VOA健康报道2022--终止妊娠的药物使用正在增加

Use of Medication to End Pregnancies¹ Is Rising

A group that supports abortion² rights says that drugs are used to carry out more than half of the abortions³ in America rather than operations.

The Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit research group, said earlier this year that the percentage has been increasing yearly.

The drugs are taken in the form of pills to medically end pregnancies.

Recent federal regulations permit women, who live in states where abortion is restricted, to receive abortion pills across state lines.

One woman from the state of South Dakota told The Associated Press she had to take two trips across state lines to get abortion pills last year.

The woman did not want to release her name. She said the pills permitted her to end an unexpected and high-risk pregnancy⁴.

An opinion from the U.S. Supreme⁵ Court leaked this week suggested that it would permit individual states to ban abortion. And anti-abortion activists⁶ and politicians say cross-border trips, online doctors visits and mail-delivery pills are what they will try to stop next.

"Medication abortion will be where access to abortion is decided," said Mary Ziegler. She is a professor at Florida State University College of Law. Ziegler specializes in reproductive rights. "That's going to be the battleground that decides how enforceable abortion bans are."

Use of abortion pills has been rising in the U.S. since 2000. That year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone. It is the main drug used in medication abortions.

The FDA removed a requirement that women receive abortion pills in person during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Mail delivery is also now permitted across the country.

Those changes have helped create online services that offer information on getting abortion pills and appointments to get a prescription⁷.

The unidentified woman in South Dakota first found that the state's only abortion clinic could not accept her in time for a medication abortion. She was able to find an online service that advised her to drive to Minnesota for a phone call with a doctor. A week later, she went back to Minnesota for the pills.

South Dakota is among several states in which Republican lawmakers and leaders have moved to place restrictions⁸ on abortion pills in recent months. Other states include Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma. The AP reports that 19 states require a medical professional to be physically⁹ present when abortion pills are given to a patient.

Besides crossing state lines, women can also go to internationally-based online pharmacies¹⁰, said Greer Donley. She is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. Some women are also having pills sent through states without restrictions.

"It's going to be much harder for states to control abortion access," Donley said. "The question is how is it going to be enforced?"

Sue Leibel is with the Susan B. Anthony List, an organization opposed to abortion. She said it is an issue that is gaining in importance to Republican state lawmakers.

"This is a new frontier and states are grappling with enforcement mechanisms," she said.

Abortion opponents say they do not want to bring legal action against women who seek abortions.

Instead, Leibel suggested the next target for state enforcement should be the pharmacies, organizations and clinics that provide the abortion pills. She also said abortion-rights opponents should place importance on electing a presidential candidate who could work to change the FDA's policy.

But, Donley, the law school professor, is worried that state lawmakers may seek to take legal action against the women who get the pills.

"Many anti-abortion legislators might realize the only way to enforce these laws is to prosecute¹¹ the pregnant person themselves," she said.

Words in This Story

abortion – n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus¹² pills

regulation — n. an official rule or law that says how something should be done

prescription –n. a written message from a doctor that officially tells someone to use a medicine, therapy

clinic –n. a place where people can get medical treatment

pharmacy¹³ –n. a store where people prescription drugs are sold

access –n. the ability to get something

frontier — n. the limits of knowledge in a particular field

grapple — v. to struggle with something

1 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。

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 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

4 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。

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 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》

7 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

8 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

9 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。

10 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

11 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

12 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。

13 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。