2016年经济学人 美国堕胎问题 重返公堂(下)

 

The Supreme¹ Court itself has already endorsed² limits after 24 weeks, the point at which a fetus³ is considered to be viable⁴ outside the womb, putting it squarely alongside public opinion.

最高法院本身已赞同怀孕24周后禁止堕胎，因为此时胎儿在子宫外可存活。最高法院的态度正好与近来的民意一致。

The best way forward would be to pass legislation to this effect.

要达到该目的，如今最好的办法就是立法。

But there is no chance of that, because the two sides are farther apart than ever, with some pro-choice groups arguing that abortion⁵ is an absolute right that cannot be restricted under any circumstances, and their pro-life opponents retorting that all abortions⁶ are acts of murder.

但这几乎不可能，因为重选择与重生命双方在堕胎问题上的分歧比以往更大。重选择的一方认为堕胎是一种绝对权利，在任何情况下都不能被限制；而重生命的一方则反驳，认为所有的堕胎都是谋杀行为。

The shift to the extremes has been most noticeable among Republicans.

走极端这种问题在共和党内最为明显。

Marco Rubio, who currently looks a good bet to win his party's presidential nomination⁷, is in favour of any law that promises to reduce the number of abortions, even one without exclusions⁸ for rape⁹ or incest.

目前最有可能赢得共和党总统提名的马克罗·鲁比奥，支持任何承诺能减少堕胎数量的法律，即使那份法案没有排除强奸和乱伦。

In the past four years state legislatures have put in place 231 restrictions¹⁰ on abortions—more than in the whole of the previous decade.

在过去的四年里，州议会已实施了231项限制堕胎的规定，比过去十年加起来的都多。

Bill of rights

权利法案

To make abortion safe, legal and rare remains¹¹ a good aim for America's laws.

使堕胎的安全化、合法化及减少堕胎仍是美国法律追求的目标。

But closing legal abortion clinics does nothing for safety, whatever the proponents¹² of the Texan law claim.

不管德州堕胎法的支持者怎么说，关闭合法的堕胎诊所对堕胎的安全性没有任何帮助。

If such restrictions are adopted more widely, abortion will, in practice, become illegal in many places, leading to the return of dangerous, clandestine¹³ procedures.

如果更多地区采用这些限制条例，那么堕胎实际上在很多地方将不合法，而那些危险隐秘的堕胎程序将回归，

It will not necessarily become rarer.

堕胎不一定会更少。

Whatever the law, abortions will be carried out.

不管法律怎么限制，堕胎总会存在。

The appeals court which upheld HB2 earlier this year acknowledged as much when it wrote that Texans who wanted an abortion could in future drive to New Mexico.

今年年初，支持HB2的上诉法院指出，想要堕胎的德州人未来可以开车到新墨西哥州进行，这样的论调也承认了法律限制堕胎的有限作用。

Factors other than its legality are more important in lowering the abortion rate.

相比堕胎的合法性，其他因素对降低堕胎率的作用更为重大。

Between 2002 and 2011—just before some states began to pile on restrictions—America's abortion rate dropped by 14%, largely because the rate of teenage pregnancy¹⁴ fell.

2002年至2011年间，即一些州出台堕胎限制条令之前，美国的堕胎率下降14%，这主要是因为少女怀孕率降低了。

That nine unelected justices can do a better job of reflecting what America, in aggregate¹⁵, favours than thousands of elected politicians in Washington or state capitols—as they did when ruling for gay marriage—is a painful indictment¹⁶ of American politics.

总的来说，与华盛顿或州议会选举出的数千名政客相较，最高法院那9名未经选举的法官似乎更能理解与反映美国所推崇的文化。正如在裁决同性婚姻问题时他们的做法一般。那是对美国政治活动的控诉，

It is nevertheless true.

尽管有点痛苦，却是真的。

Despite the reaction it will provoke, the court should strike down HB2.

不管会引发什么连锁反应，最高法院都应该驳回HB2。

1 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。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 exclusions   

n.不包括的项目：如接受服务项目是由投保以前已患有的疾病或伤害引致的，保险公司有权拒绝支付。；拒绝( exclusion的名词复数 )；排除；被排斥在外的人（或事物）；排外主义

参考例句：

• This is a trifle compared with the important exclusions. 比之其它重要的排除，这只是一件小事。 来自辞典例句
• For detailed exclusions, please refer to each policy's terms and conditions. 具体的免赔责任请详见条款。 来自互联网

9 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。

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

13 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

14 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。

15 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

16 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。