时代周刊:爱尔兰考虑废除堕胎禁令（在线收听）

Ireland Weighs Repealing Abortion Ban in a Landmark 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 amendment of the country’s constitution, which effectively outlaws 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 remains 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 fetus 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 rape or nonviable pregnancies.

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 momentum 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 miscarriage.

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 immediate 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 repeal passes, his government hopes to pass legislation legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

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 activists 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 fully 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” demonstration 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 abstaining.

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。