美国国家公共电台 NPR Republican State Lawmakers Split Over Anti-Abortion Strategy

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Yesterday, Ohio became the sixth state to pass a bill outlawing² abortions⁴ at the point a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Republicans in state capitols across the country seem eager to test the limits of Roe⁵ v. Wade⁶ now that conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh is on the U.S. Supreme⁷ Court. But this surge of legislation also has led to some infighting among anti-abortion³ activists⁸, as Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports.

BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE⁹: These so-called heartbeat bills would outlaw¹ abortion after roughly six weeks, when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That's before many women even know they're pregnant. As Tennessee lawmakers pushed forward a heartbeat bill this year, Planned Parenthood sent Skip Rudsenske (ph), a volunteer attorney, to the Statehouse to argue against it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SKIP RUDSENSKE: For the last 40 years since Roe v. Wade, every state law attempting to ban abortion prior to viability¹⁰ has been struck down.

FARMER: But several states are now ready to challenge decades of precedent¹¹. For a long time, Ohio Right to Life supported a gradual approach and felt a heartbeat bill was just too radical¹² - until this year. Spokesperson Jamieson Gordon says they changed their minds after the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

JAMIESON GORDON: And we see the court as being much more favorable in - to pro-life legislation than it has been in a generation. And so we figured this would be a good time to pursue the heartbeat bill as the next step in our incremental¹³ approach to end abortion on demand.

FARMER: Some say the rush to pass these bills is about lawmakers competing to get their particular state's law before the Supreme Court. The state that helps overturn Roe v. Wade would go down in history. But it's also exposed some fundamental disagreements within the anti-abortion movement about just how far to go. For example, Ohio's bill made no exceptions for cases of rape¹⁴ and incest. But the heartbeat bill that passed in Georgia did. Zemmie Fleck¹⁵ of Georgia Right to Life had a big problem with that.

ZEMMIE FLECK: It really just does not go far enough in the protection of the innocent human life.

FARMER: Georgia Right to Life withdrew support from the heartbeat legislation, preferring no bill rather than one Fleck sees as watered down.

FLECK: We do believe that more is possible, and more was possible.

FARMER: In many ways, this is a split between pragmatists and idealists, both of whom think of themselves as pro-life.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TERRI LYNN WEAVER¹⁶: By golly, Tennessee will join the ranks of those states who believe in the innocent.

FARMER: State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver was one of the most vocal¹⁷ backers as Tennessee considered its heartbeat bill this year. It's had high-profile support, including from the state's new governor. But the Republican attorney general warned it would be difficult to defend in court. And several Republicans listened to that and voted no for the heartbeat bill, like State Representative Bill Dunn.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL DUNN: This is an issue that's extremely important to me. It's the reason I got into politics many years ago.

FARMER: Dunn says he wants to stop abortion, but it requires strategy. He points out that no heartbeat bill has ever really been enforced. And recent laws in Iowa and Kentucky have been immediately blocked in court.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DUNN: Number one, it'll probably never save a life, if we go by what's happened in the past.

FARMER: But it's money that ultimately stopped the heartbeat bill this year in Tennessee. Senate Speaker Randy McNally says he's pro-life, too, but has no interest in wasting tax dollars to make a point. And even worse, the state could end up paying the legal fees for groups that defend abortion.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RANDY MCNALLY: That is a big concern. We don't want to put money in their pockets.

FARMER: The last time Tennessee had a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, it cost roughly $2 million dollars. That case was about gay marriage, but the experience was enough to give a few anti-abortion crusaders some pause. They voted this week with Democrats¹⁸ for a one-year delay on a heartbeat bill. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville.

SHAPIRO: This story is part of a partnership¹⁹ with NPR, WPLN and Kaiser Health News.

1 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

2 outlawing   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• An amendment outlawing sale of intoxicating liquors(1920)was repealed in 1933. 规定售卖酒类为非法的一个宪法修正案（一九二○年）在一九三三年被废止。

3 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。

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 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

6 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

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 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》

9 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。

10 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

13 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 fleck   

n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳

参考例句：

• The garlic moss has no the yellow fleck and other virus. 蒜苔无黄斑点及其它病毒。
• His coat is blue with a grey fleck.他的上衣是蓝色的，上面带有灰色的斑点。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

17 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。