美国国家公共电台 NPR--Republicans aim to paint all Democrats as radicals when it comes to abortion

Republicans aim to paint all Democrats¹ as radicals² when it comes to abortion³

Transcript⁴

Republicans want to make the conversation about abortion a challenge for Democrats by accusing them of having extreme positions — even though the public largely supports keeping Roe⁵ v. Wade⁶ in place.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

What do Republicans do if they finally get what they want on abortion? The party has campaigned to overturn Roe v. Wade for decades. The Supreme⁷ Court now seems very close to doing that, and that throws the field open for potential legislation. Senate Democrats already plan to vote to make abortion rights into law, which is very unlikely to pass but reflects their position. Some Republicans have talked about state or even national abortion bans, which would be very unpopular. NPR senior political editor and correspondent, Domenico Montanaro is tracking the Republican approach. Domenico, good morning.

DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE⁸: Hey. Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: Is this a goal that was easier for Republicans to advocate than to actually deal with if they accomplish it?

MONTANARO: Well, you know, abortion is one of those issues where surveys tell us there's a lot of common ground. But, you know, it's been an issue, I think, like you're alluding⁹ to here, that's been the culture war issue for Republicans in firing up their base for the better part of the past 50 years. You know, there's a real open question now about what the Republican Party does nationally if the Supreme Court does go ahead and overturn Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal in this country.

About two-thirds of people say in survey after survey that they want Roe to be upheld and for abortion to be legal in this country but with restrictions¹⁰. And that's where Republicans are trying to deflect¹¹ to - away from, you know, the idea that Roe v. Wade would be overturned - and push Democrats on restrictions instead. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had this to say on the Senate floor yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MITCH MCCONNELL: Today's Democratic Party is profoundly out of step with the American people on this issue. Their extreme position ignores modern science and public opinion. Leader Schumer wants the Senate to vote again on a Democratic bill that would effectively legalize abortion on demand through all nine months.

INSKEEP: Let's check that. There is a bill. Democrats plan to vote on it. It's a bill they've voted on before. Would it actually be abortion on demand for nine months?

MONTANARO: Right. The Women's Health Protection Act, this is called. This Democratic bill, you know, doesn't really say - does not really say that it would allow abortion in the third trimester in all or even most cases. What the bill says is that after viability¹², which is about 23 to 24 weeks, that a pregnant person would be allowed to get an abortion if there's a, quote, "good-faith medical judgment¹³ of the treating health care provider," that the, quote, "pregnancy¹⁴ would pose a risk to the pregnant person's life or health."

Now, what health means exactly isn't spelled out, and that's something conservatives have really dug in on. But it's pretty much what's in the Roe decision, which says that states can, quote, "proscribe," which means forbid, quote, "abortion, except where necessary, if in appropriate medical judgment for the preservation¹⁵ of the life or health of the mother."

We should also note that 9 in 10 abortions¹⁶ take place in the first 12 weeks. More than half are by pill. And yet what gets most of the attention is what we're talking about here, which is an extreme example of something that's exceedingly rare. And the energy right now, we should note, is on the right with Republican-led states, what they're doing in trying to implement¹⁷ more restrictions. That's what's before the court. And the leaked court draft opinion shows a conservative majority would overturn Roe, which, as we noted¹⁸, would be unpopular.

INSKEEP: Senator McConnell was asked about this in recent days, and he said it's possible that Republicans would try to pass a national ban on abortion if they got a majority in the Senate, although he also said he wasn't going to be removing the filibuster¹⁹ to do that. Why would he say that?

MONTANARO: Well, you know, the only thing that McConnell really cares about is winning the Senate. You know, 51 seats is his top priority. He's making a base play, but he's really threatening Democrats with just how far he might go if he has the power in the Senate as a way to warn Democrats of not going too far and getting rid of the filibuster. So it's a bit of a game of chicken. You know, and if Roe's overturned, the fight really would most likely be state-by-state, with very different laws depending on which party's in charge.

INSKEEP: What would Republicans rather be talking about?

MONTANARO: Yeah. I mean, right now, Republicans had been on a glide²⁰ path to the majority in the House and possibly the Senate. So this presents a lot of volatility²¹. They'd rather, frankly²², be talking about inflation, an area where they had an advantage on. Abortion - far less clear. And Republicans are really trying to paint Democrats as extreme, not just on policy but on activism and really trying to shift the conversation.

INSKEEP: Domenico, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

MONTANARO: Hey, you're welcome.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Domenico Montanaro.

1 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》

2 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

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 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。

9 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

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 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

12 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。

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

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 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

16 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

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 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。

20 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

21 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

22 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。