In Texas, a former state senator challenges the state's abortion law in court

In Texas, a former state senator challenges the state's abortion¹ law in court

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to ex-state Sen. Wendy Davis who is challenging the state's restrictive abortion law. She became well-known nationally after a 13-hour filibuster³ of a 2013 abortion bill.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Since a restrictive abortion law went into effect in Texas last year, nonprofits have stepped in to help pregnant Texans travel out of state and pay for care there.

WENDY DAVIS: The law like this is having a disproportionate impact on people who are already marginalized.

MARTINEZ: That is Wendy Davis. She's a former state senator who became well-known nationally after a 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill. Now she works with one of the abortion funds that's been targeted by Senate Bill 8, the near-total ban on abortion in the state of Texas. These funds are now legal targets under the new law, which allows civil lawsuits⁴ against anyone who aids or abets⁶ in an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy⁷. Davis is fighting back in court, suing four people, including a Republican state representative, for threatening to take legal action against abortion funds. Her case argues that the threats are a violation⁸ of the constitutional right to free speech. And as she told our colleague, Leila Fadel, the lawsuit⁵ claims the controversial law makes a mockery of the federal courts.

DAVIS: The first most important thing about our suit and other suits that have been filed against Senate Bill 8 is that we are resolved to fight. We aren't going away. And we're not going to go away no matter what happens in June of this year with the Supreme⁹ Court's ultimate decision in the Mississippi case that is before it right now. A lot of court watchers, myself included, believe that in June, we are likely to see Roe¹⁰ v. Wade¹¹ overturned through the Mississippi case that the Supreme Court is considering right now. We are going to make sure that we do everything we can, No. 1, to create the kind of legislative¹² statutory protections for safe abortion care that are needed, but No. 2, in the meantime, to fight with everything that we have against laws that are in violation of constitutional protections and of course, standing¹³ up to people who threaten suits for those who are doing everything they can to make access to safe abortion care possible.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

You know, when this law first passed, a lot of people talked about their concern that it encouraged distrust and spying between people, between neighbors in communities. And I just wonder what it's like right now. Has that been the case?

DAVIS: I think, right now, it's certainly had a tremendous chilling effect. As you look at the landscape in Texas, what you see is that most clinics and most clinicians have complied with this law not because they've been sued, but because they fear those suits and what the consequences of those will look like. And that's created this terrible stalemate position where the law hasn't actually been tested. We haven't seen a court actually uphold it in terms of a suit being filed and a court making a decision on whether an individual has the right to sue under this law. Instead, we are living under the threat of it, which up to this point has been enough. But now we have these individuals. And that's what this lawsuit is about, because we feel they've given us a new opening and a new opportunity to challenge the legality of Senate Bill 8 and, hopefully, to strike it down once and for all.

FADEL: Now, your lawsuit says that Senate Bill 8 makes a mockery of the federal courts. It also talks about how it violates freedom of congregation, freedom of speech. Can you talk about that?

DAVIS: Yes. You know, part of freedom of speech, of course, and our ability to express ourselves can come in the form of making monetary¹⁴ donations to organizations whose work we support. That is the case for those of us who donate to abortion funds and to the other practical support organizations on the ground here in Texas who are helping¹⁵ people access safe abortion care.

FADEL: What type of calls, what type of people are turning to abortion funds right now?

DAVIS: You know, it's no surprise at all, of course, that a law like this is having a disproportionate impact on people who are already marginalized, people of color, people living on low incomes, immigrants, young people who don't have parental¹⁶ support. And these are the folks who are least able to handle the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy and, unfortunately, least able to be able to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. And that's why the support of these abortion funds and practical support organizations has been so crucial.

FADEL: Come June - you talked about the dangers, the possibility that Roe v. Wade is overturned. I mean, then federal protections are gone. So what does this mean for a situation where already abortion laws are this patchwork¹⁷ at this point?

DAVIS: If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court in June, we know that there are more than 20 states that have trigger laws or a similar law on the books, which essentially¹⁸ will immediately and effectively overturn the legal right to access abortion care in those states. Texas is one of them. And what that means is that we're going to have states where these rights are provided and protected and states where they aren't. And we will all have to work tremendously hard to make sure that we can provide the greatest access to the greatest number of people to the states where safe, legal abortion care is assured. And then we'll have to keep fighting with everything that we have to get the statutory protections at the federal level that this moment demands and that the people of this country deserve.

FADEL: Wendy Davis, thank you so much for speaking with us.

DAVIS: Thank you for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF INBAR FRIDMAN'S "13 DAYS")

MARTINEZ: Wendy Davis is a former Democratic state senator in Texas. She works with the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity¹⁹, an Austin-based abortion fund. And she spoke²⁰ with our co-host, Leila Fadel.

(SOUNDBITE OF INBAR FRIDMAN'S "13 DAYS")

1 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。

2 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。

3 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

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 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 abets   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的第三人称单数 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• Abrasion also abets wind erosion. 磨损作用也助长了风的侵蚀。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 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。

10 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？

11 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。

12 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。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

17 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

20 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。