美国国家公共电台 NPR--Uncertainty over mifepristone is a concern — even in states where abortion is legal

Uncertainty¹ over mifepristone is a concern — even in states where abortion² is legal

Transcript³

Doctors in Michigan say the pending⁴ Supreme⁵ Court ruling on the abortion medication mifepristone is causing confusion and uncertainty.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The Supreme Court could decide before midnight tonight whether to allow an abortion pill to remain widely available.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So far, the justices have temporarily paused lower court rulings that would block or partially⁶ restrict access to mifepristone. That's a drug now being used in more than half of abortions⁷ in the U.S.

MART?NEZ: Kate Wells at Michigan Radio is here to tell us about what's at stake in one state where abortion is still legal. Kate, you're in Michigan. What are clinics saying there?

KATE WELLS, BYLINE⁸: It's chaos⁹. I mean, doctors here have not experienced this much confusion or uncertainty really since last summer, since Roe¹⁰ was overturned, especially since, you know, residents here in Michigan in November voted to put abortion rights in the state constitution. And yet, you know, even here, this method is still under threat. One of the doctors that I talked with is Dr. Audrey Lance. She's an OB-GYN with Northland Family Planning outside Detroit. And she told me that every time in the last few weeks that one of these legal deadlines approaches, it is disruptive.

AUDREY LANCE: It's hard, you know, when I know that I'm going to walk in to work tomorrow to provide care to patients with these medications. Am I allowed to do that? I don't know yet. I don't know what's going to happen.

WELLS: And, of course, what she wants to do is keep using mifepristone, because when you combine it with misoprostol, that two-drug combination is the gold standard of medication abortions. It is the most effective method. But if the court bans mifepristone entirely¹¹, it might also just restrict its use by not allowing it to be sent through the mail. And that especially is a big fear for doctors here.

MART?NEZ: But what's the biggest fear about losing the ability to send these pills directly to patients?

WELLS: Well, I mean, Michigan is a large state. You know, most brick-and-mortar clinics right now that provide abortion are concentrated in the southern part of the state, which means if you live farther north, if you're in the Upper Peninsula, you've got to drive for hours just to get to a clinic. But, of course, right now, these patients can get the pills remotely. Dr. Sarah Wallett is with Planned Parenthood of Michigan, and she can do a virtual appointment with these patients and then send the pills directly to them through the mail.

SARAH WALLETT: We see patients who are in their car on break from their job. We see patients at home with their small children who don't have the ability to take time off work, to get child care, to get gas money.

MART?NEZ: OK, so, Kate, the option to mail mifepristone could disappear depending on the Supreme Court's decision. But could misoprostol still be mailed?

WELLS: Yes, they could definitely still use that medication rather than the two-drug combination. And misoprostol alone is effective at ending pregnancies¹³. But the doctors I spoke¹⁴ with say, you know, they're slightly worried about this because it is slightly less effective than when you use both pills, and they worry that this would mean more patients would need to come back in for surgical¹⁵ procedures afterwards. And - bigger picture - they also just worry that if mifepristone isn't available, some patients just won't want to take the risk. They won't want to have a medication abortion. They will just opt¹² for surgical procedures instead.

MART?NEZ: And can they handle the capacity for more of those?

WELLS: Not at first. You know, it would be a big change. A lot of people right now use medication abortions. If a lot of them instead want to do an actual procedure, that could mean longer wait times and delays in care.

MART?NEZ: Michigan Radio's Kate Wells. Kate, thanks a lot.

WELLS: You're welcome.

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

13 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。