美国国家公共电台 NPR--Calif. amendment sparks debate about the concept of fetal viability during pregnancy

Calif. amendment² sparks debate about the concept of fetal viability³ during pregnancy⁴

Transcript⁵

California voters will decide whether to amend¹ their state constitution to explicitly⁷ protect abortion⁸ rights. But it's unclear whether the amendment would allow abortions⁹ at any point in pregnancy.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

California voters are deciding whether to add a state constitutional amendment that protects abortion rights. But specifics are hard to come by. KQED's April Dembosky reports.

APRIL DEMBOSKY, BYLINE¹⁰: Before the final legislative¹¹ vote on the amendment, one Democrat¹² after another stood up and declared their commitment to women's health, autonomy and equality. But then Republican Kevin Kiley asked a pointed¹³ question.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN KILEY: California law generally bars the performance of an abortion past the point of fetal viability. Would this constitutional amendment change that?

DEMBOSKY: The legislative chamber¹⁴ went quiet.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR SQUEAKING)

DEMBOSKY: For a full 30 seconds, no one said anything. Democratic assembly speaker Anthony Rendon whispered with colleagues. He asked to have the question repeated. Then he went quiet again.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANTHONY RENDON: I'll answer that question and others in my closing.

DEMBOSKY: He never did. Under current California law, abortion for any reason is allowed up to viability, the point at which a fetus¹⁵ can survive outside the womb. But the constitutional amendment doesn't mention the word viability anywhere.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES GALLAGHER: And that's why I can't support this constitutional amendment today - because of what's missing from it.

DEMBOSKY: Republican assembly member James Gallagher says his twin boys were born 2 1/2 months premature¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GALLAGHER: And they were alive, and they were people.

DEMBOSKY: Without explicit⁶ time limits on abortion, he says the amendment gets the balance wrong between the rights of the mother and the fetus.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GALLAGHER: It says nothing about their rights.

DEMBOSKY: Throughout the debate, there were several awkward moments when Democrats¹⁷ scrambled¹⁸ to answer questions or even seemed confused by the language of their own proposed amendment. But doctors like Pratima Gupta, who helped draft the amendment, say there was no mistake here. The word viability was left out on purpose.

PRATIMA GUPTA: Every pregnancy is individual, and it's a continuum.

DEMBOSKY: She says people come into pregnancy with a range of pre-existing health conditions - diabetes¹⁹, anemia²⁰, high blood pressure. All of these very nuanced factors determine whether a fetus is viable²¹.

GUPTA: For example, if I see a patient who has broken their bag of water at 23 weeks of pregnancy, that doesn't mean that it's viable or not viable.

DEMBOSKY: In recent years, at least three other states have removed gestational age limits from their abortion laws, including Colorado, New Jersey²² and Vermont. Abortion opponents say if California follows suit, women will be lining²³ up for abortions when they're eight months pregnant, for whatever reason at all. But the latest research suggests this is not going to happen.

ELIZABETH NASH: There's a very small percentage of abortions that take place at and after 21 weeks. It's about 1%.

DEMBOSKY: Elizabeth Nash is an abortion policy analyst²⁴ at the Guttmacher Institute. She says women seek abortions later in pregnancy because of serious medical complications and, increasingly, legal barriers.

NASH: It may be that they're delayed because there are lots of restrictions²⁵ they have to comply with, maybe because they need to travel for an abortion. It may be that they can't get time off of work or that it was a wanted pregnancy and something happened.

DEMBOSKY: Even in California, polls show voters get more uncomfortable with abortion the later it gets in pregnancy. But when it comes to this amendment, almost three-quarters say they're going to vote for it.

MARY ZIEGLER: The politics of viability have changed.

DEMBOSKY: Mary Ziegler is a law professor at UC Davis. With the Supreme²⁶ Court erasing²⁷ the federal right to abortion, she says the vast majority of Californians are not inclined to nitpick.

ZIEGLER: These viability arguments that had obviously been compelling for decades don't land the same way.

DEMBOSKY: Ziegler says, if the amendment passes, the wording does open the door to allowing abortion at any point in pregnancy, but it will likely be left to the courts for the final interpretation²⁸.

For NPR News, I'm April Dembosky.

MARTINEZ: This story comes from NPR's partnership²⁹ with KQED and Kaiser Health News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLOWLY ROLLING CAMERA'S "A THOUSAND LIGHTS")

1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 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。

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

6 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

7 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 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。

9 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

10 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。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

15 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。

16 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

17 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》

18 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

20 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

21 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。

22 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

23 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

24 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

25 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

26 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。

27 erasing   

v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵，挤出过去，吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
• Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然，恐惧淹没了渴望，泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句

28 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

29 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。