VOA慢速英语--阿根廷立法者拒绝使堕胎法案合法化

Argentina Lawmakers Reject Bill to Legalize Abortion¹

Argentina’s Senate has rejected a measure that would have legalized ending a pregnancy² during the first 14 weeks for any reason.

The Senate voted against the measure 38 to 31 on Thursday. The proposal narrowly passed Argentina’s lower house in July.

President Mauricio Macri had promised to sign the bill if it passed, although he is against abortion. Macri called the debate “a win for democracy.”

The vote followed intense debate in the Senate that ran into the early morning. Supporters and opponents spent hours outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires to follow the debate.

Demonstrations³ were mostly peaceful. After the vote, small groups of protesters threw firebombs and set barricades⁵ on fire, the Associated Press reported. Police used tear gas to break up the crowd, but no injuries were reported.

The bill was supported by several women’s groups and a growing abortion rights movement. The Roman Catholic Church is still strong in Argentina – the home country of Pope Francis. The Catholic Church and other groups opposed the measure. They argued the bill violated an Argentine law that guarantees life from the moment of conception.

Abortion is only allowed in Argentina in cases of rape⁶ and risks to the mother’s health. Thousands of women, most of them poor, are hospitalized each year for problems linked to unsafe abortions⁷. Supporters of the measure said legalizing abortion would save the lives of many women.

The Health Ministry⁸ estimated in 2016 that up to 500,000 secret abortions are performed each year, resulting in the deaths of many women. Activists⁹ have estimated about 3,000 women in Argentina have died from illegal abortions since 1983.

Jose Miguel Vivanco is director for the Americas for the rights group Human Rights Watch based in New York City. He had called on Argentine lawmakers to take a “historic” stand to protect the rights of women.

Rights group Amnesty International had told senators to keep in mind that “the world is watching” the vote.

Demonstrations in support of the measure were held in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador. Efforts to ease or strengthen abortion restrictions¹⁰ have happened in other nations across South and Central America in recent years.

Last year in Chile, the Constitutional Court approved a bill that eased that country’s complete ban on abortions. The law now permits abortions when a woman’s life is in danger, when a fetus¹¹ is not viable¹² and in cases of rape.

Chile had been the last country in South America to ban abortion in all cases. Several nations in Central America still have complete abortion bans.

Argentina has supported several social movements in recent years.

In 2010, it became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage.

More recently, the Ni Una Menos, or Not One Less, movement was created in Argentina. The movement aims to fight violence against women and has spread around the world.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

abortion –n. a medical operation used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus

barricade⁴ – n. something put on or across the road to block it

conception – n. the moment a woman becomes pregnant

fetus – n. young human that is still developing inside its mother

viable – adj. able to be successful

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 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。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

5 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

6 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。

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 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 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》

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 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。

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。