美国国家公共电台 NPR--A 1931 law criminalizing abortion in Michigan is unconstitutional, a judge rules

A 1931 law criminalizing abortion¹ in Michigan is unconstitutional, a judge rules

Transcript²

ANN ARBOR³, Mich. — Enforcement of Michigan's 1931 abortion ban was blocked Wednesday by a judge who replaced her temporary order with a permanent injunction.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled the Michigan Constitution's due process clause is expansive enough to cover reproductive rights.

"The Michigan Constitution protects the right of all pregnant people to make autonomous⁴ health decisions," she wrote, and later: "Exercising the right to bodily integrity means exercising the right to determine when in her life a woman will be best prepared physically⁵, emotionally and financially to be a mother."

Gleicher's initial temporary order pre-dated the U.S. Supreme⁶ Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in June.

Dr. Sarah Wallett, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan, says this means abortion rights are protected while there's still a lot of litigation pending⁷.

"But this does help reassure⁸ providers and patients who are really worried that that might not always be the case in Michigan," she told the Michigan Public Radio Network.

Michigan's dormant⁹ abortion law would threaten abortion providers with felony charges.

Gleicher's opinion was somewhat technical. It did not directly bar prosecutors¹⁰ from filing charges against abortion providers. Instead, she instructed Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to inform prosecutors that abortion rights remain protected. Nessel has already said she won't file charges under the 1931 law.

The distinction is meaningless, according to attorney David Kallman, who represents county prosecutors who say they are allowed to file criminal charges under the 1931 law.

"Unbelievable," he said. "Talk about a shift and a change in our constitutional form of government. I didn't realize the state of Michigan now, according to Judge Gleicher, controls and runs all 83 county prosecutors' offices in this state."

This is one of several abortion-related legal cases in play in Michigan. It could join at least three decisions that have been appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. There's also a separate case that seeks to put an abortion rights amendment¹¹ on the November ballot¹².

The court is expected to rule this week on a challenge to the petition campaign, which gathered nearly 750,000 signatures — a record — in an effort to put a proposed reproductive rights amendment on the November ballot.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

4 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

9 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

12 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。