VOA慢速英语2019 法国将允许更多女性通过辅助生殖技术受孕

France May Permit More Women to Become Pregnant With Medical Help

Life may soon change for some women in France.French law currently prevents unmarried and homosexual women from seeking medical help to get pregnant.If they want assistance conceiving a child, they must go to a country where the process is legal.

法国一些女性的人生可能很快就会发生变化。法国法律目前禁止未婚和同性恋女性通过医疗辅助受孕。如果她们想要辅助受孕，必须前往辅助受孕合法的国家。

France limits assisted reproduction to heterosexual couples who are not able to get pregnant in the usual way.But government officials recently proposed a new law.

法国的辅助生殖技术仅限于无法正常怀孕的异性恋伴侣。但是政府官员最近提出了一项新法案。 

The measure would give unmarried and homosexual women access to medically assisted reproduction in France for the first time.

这项措施将使法国未婚和同性恋女性首次有机会获得医疗辅助生殖技术的帮助。 

The law would permit methods such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization.During such treatments, doctors combine male and female cells to create an embryo¹.The male cells may come from someone the woman knows, or they may be from an unknown donor².

该法案将允许人工授精和试管受精等方法。在这样的治疗过程中，医生将精子和卵子结合起来形成胚胎。精子可能来自女性认识的人，也可能来自匿名捐精者。

The proposal calls for France’s national health care system to pay for four attempts of assisted reproduction each time a woman wants to get pregnant.

该提案要求法国的医疗保健体系为每位想要受孕的女性支付四次辅助生殖的费用。 

The proposal also says children conceived with donated male cells should be able to learn the donor’s identity after they turn 18.The current law strictly³ protects donors’ identities.

该法案还要求，通过捐精孕育的孩子应能在18岁之后知道捐精者的身份。现行法律严格保护捐精者的身份。

French officials say they are proposing the law to answer changes in society.

法国官员表示，他们提出这项法案是为了应对社会的变化。 

At least 20 groups have already spoken out against the idea, however.They are organizing a protest to oppose the bill.The groups say the law will lead to more children being raised without fathers.

然而，至少有20个团体已经公开反对这一想法。他们正在组织抗议活动反对这项法案。这些组织说，这项法案将导致更多的孩子在没有父亲的情况下长大。

They also worry that expanding access to different ways of getting pregnant will lead to legalizing surrogate pregnancies⁴.In that process, a woman carries and delivers a baby for someone else.French law currently does not permit surrogate pregnancy⁵.

他们还担心，扩大各种受孕方式的渠道将导致代孕合法化。代孕是指女性替别人怀孕、生子。法国法律目前不允许代孕。

Alberic Dumont is a critic of the proposed bill.He says the French government is creating new rights while ignoring the effects on children.

阿尔伯里克·杜蒙是该法案的批评者。他说，法国政府在创造新的权利的同时而忽视了对儿童的影响。

But supporters of the proposal say it would help many French women.One example is Virginie.She married her wife, Cecile, in June.They recently paid for male cells to be mailed from Denmark so that Virginie could get pregnant.The cost was more than $1,000, and the move was illegal.

但该提议的支持者表示，这将帮助许多法国女性。维吉尼亚就是一个例子。她于六月与妻子塞西尔结婚。她们最近花钱购买了从丹麦寄来的精子，这样维吉尼亚就可以受孕了。花费超过1000美元，而此举是非法的。

Virginie told the Associated Press that breaking the law was difficult.She did not want to use her family name for this story.She says if her pregnancy fails—and if the proposed bill succeeds – she and Cecile will consider using the new French law to try again.

维吉尼亚告诉美联社，违反法律是一件困难重重的事情。她不想在新闻中透露自己的姓氏。她说，如果这次受孕失败，而该提案成功通过，她和塞西尔会考虑利用新的法律再尝试一次。

Lawmakers in France will debate the proposal later this year.

法国议员将在今年晚些时候就该提案展开辩论。 

1 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

4 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。

5 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。