时代周刊:爱尔兰考虑废除堕胎禁令

Ireland Weighs Repealing² Abortion³ Ban in a Landmark⁴ Referendum

一次划时代的全民公投 爱尔兰考虑废除堕胎禁令

ONMAY 25, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND will vote in a landmark referendum

5月25日，爱尔兰共和国将就有力废除了堕胎的爱尔兰宪法第八修正案

on the eighth amendment⁵ of the country’s constitution, which effectively outlaws⁶ abortion.

举行一次具有里程碑意义的全民公投。

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, 39, announced the referendum three months after becoming the country’s youngest leader in history.

39岁的总理利奥·瓦拉德卡尔，在当选该国历史上最年轻的领导人的三个月后宣布了公投的消息。

While Ireland has taken some socially progressive steps in recent years,

虽然近年来爱尔兰已经采取了一些社会进步举措，

including legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015,

包括2015年批准了同性婚姻的合法地位，

the abortion issue remains⁷ divisive in the predominantly Catholic country.

然而，在这个天主教主导的国家里，国民对堕胎问题的看法仍然存在分歧。

(First of all,)RESTRICTIVE REPUBLIC

(一、)限制堕胎的共和国

Ireland’s abortion laws are among the world’s most restrictive.

爱尔兰的堕胎法堪称世界上最严苛的堕胎法之一。

The eighth amendment, passed in 1983, gives an unborn fetus⁸ a right to life equal to that of its pregnant mother.

1983年通过的第八修正案赋予了未出生的胎儿与怀孕母亲同等的生命权。

Women can face a 14-year prison sentence for having an abortion, even in cases of rape⁹ or nonviable pregnancies¹⁰.

堕胎的女性可能面临长达14年的监禁，哪怕是在被强奸和胎儿畸形的情况下。

From 2010 to 2015, 25,000 Irish women traveled to England and Wales to terminate pregnancies.

从2010年到2015年间，共有2.5万名爱尔兰妇女前往英格兰和威尔士终止妊娠。

(And then,there is)INCREMENTAL CHANGE

（二、）渐进的变革

A campaign to liberalize abortion laws gathered momentum¹¹ in 2012,

2012年，在戈尔韦一家医院流产的过程，

when 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar died in a Galway hospital after being refused an abortion during a miscarriage¹².

31岁的牙医萨维塔·哈拉帕纳瓦尔中因为堕胎的要求被拒绝而离开了人世，一场旨在放宽堕胎法的运动逐渐抬头。

In 2013, abortion became possible in cases where the mother’s life is in immediate¹³ danger.

2013年，产妇生命岌岌可危的一些案例中，堕胎逐渐成为了可能。

Varadkar’s government favors further liberalizing the law,

瓦拉德卡尔的政府倾向于进一步放宽法律，

and if the repeal¹ passes, his government hopes to pass legislation legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy¹⁴.

如果废除该法案的提案获得通过，他的政府希望能够通过立法，使怀孕头12周内的堕胎行为合法化。

Some abortion-rights activists¹⁵ believe the law should go further, which Varadkar has said is unlikely.

一些争取堕胎权利的活动人士认为，应该将堕胎的期限再放宽一点，但瓦拉德卡尔表示那不太可能。

(And then,)CONTENTIOUS ISSUE

（三、）争议的问题

Ireland only fully¹⁶ legalized divorce and contraception as recently as the 1990s,

直到20世纪90年代，爱尔兰才将离婚和避孕完全合法化，

and the vote in May is set to be close.

而5月份的投票结果也已经接近尾声了。

Rallies to repeal the ban have been held in cities across Europe,

欧洲各地城市都举行了集会，要求废除该禁令，

while a “Save the Eighth” demonstration¹⁷ in Dublin attracted tens of thousands of people in March.

三月在都柏林举行的“拯救第八修正案”游行也吸引了成千上万人的目光。

A recent poll found that 47% of voters are in favor of repealing the ban,

最近的一项民意调查显示，47%的选民支持废除该禁令，

while 28% would leave it in place; others are undecided or abstaining¹⁸.

28%的人支持保留这一禁令；剩下的人要么犹豫不决，要么放弃了投票。

Whatever the result, it is unlikely to signal the end of the debate—for either side.

结果无论如何，都不太可能标志着这一辩论将就此结束——而且，对任何一方来说都是如此。

1 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

2 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

3 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。

4 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

5 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。

6 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 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。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

18 abstaining   

戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的现在分词 )； 弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Abstaining from killing, from taking what is not given, & from illicIt'sex. 诸比丘！远离杀生，远离不与取，于爱欲远离邪行。
• Abstaining from arguments was also linked to an unusual daily cortisol pattern. 压抑争吵也造成每日异常的皮质醇波动。