美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Guts Requirement That Employer Health Plans Pay For Birth Control

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The Trump¹ administration is rolling back an Obama-era health care mandate². It had required employers to pay for birth control through their insurance plans. And the Trump administration is leaving that mandate in place, but under its new rule, nearly any employer can opt³ out of paying for birth control if they have a religious or moral objection. That has already led to lawsuits⁴. NPR's Alison Kodjak has more.

ALISON KODJAK, BYLINE⁵: The Affordable⁶ Care Act included birth control among the services that company health plans are required to cover. But religious groups objected and sued. Two of those suits, one brought by the company Hobby Lobby and one by the religious order the Little Sisters of the Poor, went to the Supreme⁷ Court. The justices ruled that the government can't force private companies or nonprofits to pay for birth control against their religious beliefs. Mark Rienzi represents the Little Sisters.

MARK RIENZI: It's downright silly to think that you need nuns⁸ to give out contraceptives. You don't.

KODJAK: In response to the court ruling, the Obama administration figured out a way for women to still get their birth control covered without the companies having to pay for it. Today's announcement allows religious groups and companies like the Little Sisters and Hobby Lobby to stop their insurers from offering contraception coverage⁹ altogether but, more importantly, expands the exemption¹⁰ to any company, even publicly traded ones. So women who work at a lot more companies could end up having to pay full price for contraceptives. Roger Severino leads the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services.

ROGER SEVERINO: In our country, we believe in tolerance¹¹. We believe in diversity. We should have space organizations to live out their religious identity and not face discrimination.

KODJAK: Depending on who you talk to, today's change may amount to a tiny tweak, or it could lead to women across the country losing access to birth control. Severino from the Health and Human Services Department says the change will affect less than 1 percent of all women.

SEVERINO: This provides an exemption. It's a limited one. It provides it only for those with religious or moral convictions that are implicated¹² by the contraceptive mandate.

KODJAK: But Dana Singiser over at Planned Parenthood says the new rules are much more sweeping¹³.

DANA SINGISER: With this rule in place, any employer for any religious or moral reasons would be allowed to refuse birth control for their employees.

KODJAK: Her group says millions of women could lose their insurance coverage for contraceptives. And the truth probably falls somewhere in between. Alison Kodjak, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

4 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 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。

8 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

11 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

12 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？