最高法院驳回德克萨斯州堕胎法

AS IT IS 2016-06-28 Supreme¹ Court Rejects Texas Abortion² Law 最高法院驳回德克萨斯州堕胎法

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Texas went too far in regulating a woman’s ability to end a pregnancy³.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the opinion for the 5-3 majority. He said the Texas law is not medically necessary, and unconstitutionally limited a woman’s right to an abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy.

The Supreme Court justices were deciding whether a 2013 Texas law was constitutional. The law requires doctors who perform abortions⁴ to have admitting privileges at hospitals located near their clinics. It also required abortion clinics to meet surgical⁵ requirements for patients similar to those for patients at hospitals.

Breyer said those requirements provide few, if any, improvements for women’s health. But, he said they make it harder for women to get abortions.

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that women have a right to decide to end a pregnancy through abortion.

The Center for Reproductive Rights says the ruling will likely put an end to laws in nine other states that are similar to the Texas law. Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Missouri have similar laws to the one in Texas. Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Florida also have such laws.

The Supreme Court ruled on another highly disputed case related to guns on Monday.

The court said that people convicted of domestic abuse, even for a lesser⁶ criminal charge, or misdemeanor, can be barred from owning guns. Domestic abuse is when someone is violent toward a wife or husband, or other partner.

Two men had disputed the ban on guns, saying they had hit a romantic partner in an argument, not in a pre-planned attack.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote the opinion for the 6-2 majority. She rejected the men’s argument.

“A person who assaults another recklessly uses force, no less than one who carries out that same action knowingly or intentionally⁷,” Kagan wrote.

And in another well-known case, the Supreme Court threw out the conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

McDonnell was found guilty of accepting gifts from a businessman who sought his help selling his product. The gifts, which included a Rolex watch, were worth more than $175,000.

Chief Justice John Roberts said that while McDonnell’s actions are “distasteful,” the federal government went too far in building a bribery⁸ case. The court’s ruling was 8-0.

But it was the abortion ruling that got the most attention of the three major decisions released Monday. The three rulings came as the Supreme Court neared the end of its 2015-2016 term.

Three justices, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, opposed the majority ruling against the Texas abortion law. They released what is called a dissent⁹ – meaning they disagreed with the decision of the majority.

Thomas quoted from an earlier written statement by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia wrote that the some justices “bend the rules when any effort to limit abortion. Or even to speak in opposition¹⁰ to abortion, is at issue.”

Scalia died in February. He has not been replaced on the Supreme Court. That has left the court with only eight of its regular nine judges.

Lawyers for Texas abortion clinics brought the abortion case. They said the 2013 Texas law had reduced the number of abortion clinics from 40 to about half of that in the state. The number would drop to 10 if the law is allowed to fully¹¹ take effect, the lawyers said.

That would require Texas women seeking abortions to travel long distances to their nearest abortion centers.

“Without question, today's ruling is a game changer in what has been an unrelenting assault on women's rights across the country,” said Nancy Northup. She is president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said the Supreme Court ruling “subjects more innocent life to being lost.”

Texas Attorney General Ken¹² Paxton said the Supreme Court “has taken the ability to protect women’s health out of the hands of Texas citizens and their duly-elected representatives.”

Words in This Story

regulate – v. to make rules or laws that control something

privilege – n. a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others

clinics

surgical – adj. of or relating to the process of performing a medical operation

assault – n. to physically¹³ attack someone

recklessly – adv. not showing proper concern about the possible bad results of your actions

intentionally – adv. to do something on purpose or as planned

bend the rules – idiomatic¹⁴ phrase. to not be strict or exact about following a rule

unrelenting – adj. not slowing down, stopping, or growing weaker

1 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。

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 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。

4 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

5 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。

6 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

7 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

8 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

9 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 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。

12 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

13 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。

14 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。