美国国家公共电台 NPR--Who and what is behind abortion ban trigger law bills? Two groups laid the groundwork

Who and what is behind abortion¹ ban trigger law bills? Two groups laid the groundwork

Transcript²

For two decades, abortion rights opponents have drafted so-called model legislation and lobbied to get the measures to restrict and ban abortions³ passed in statehouses across the country in preparation for the eventual⁴ fall of Roe⁵ v. Wade⁶.

The model legislation and concerted political pressure from national organizations that oppose abortion rights resulted in key terms being cemented into laws, the limitation of abortion access and the influence behind the trigger laws that will go into effect in 13 states this summer as a result of the Supreme⁷ Court's recent decision to overturn Roe.

Leading the pack in crafting anti-abortion legislation are Americans United for Life and the National Right to Life Committee, that provide model bill services, legal counsel and advocacy efforts for the anti-abortion movement, including the drafting of abortion-limiting and -banning bills.

"Building on the momentum⁸ from last year, two states, Idaho and Utah, passed conditional⁹ bills similar to AUL's model bill, which would ban abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade was overturned or lawmaking authority was otherwise handed back to the states," touts¹⁰ AUL's 2020 state legislative¹¹ sessions report.

Over the last several decades, the two groups have worked toward increasing abortion restrictions¹³ nationwide, ultimately leading to abortion bans in some states, said Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst¹⁴ for the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that supports abortion rights.

"What the national groups have been able to do is essentially¹⁵ craft this language on restrictions and bans and they have the networks to spread it across the country in all of these state legislatures. So you do see these very similar bills just moving very quickly and that has given momentum to restrictions," Nash said. "So we saw these legislatures adopting restriction¹² after restriction and that moved states to then start thinking about abortion bans because most of these states had adopted pretty much every restriction in the book."

This legislative pattern occurred as the makeup¹⁷ of the Supreme Court became more conservative.

"Little by little with this incremental¹⁸ approach, we've been able to strip Roe of its origin," said Ingrid Duran, director of the Department of State Legislation at the National Right to Life Committee. "That's why after all of these election cycles and different political appointments, it was very easy to see the demise¹⁹ of Roe."

The two national groups, according to Nash, have largely focused their efforts on restrictions on abortion that could be immediately enacted²⁰ with few legal challenges. Total bans, were the court to overturn Roe, were more symbolic²¹.

"It originally appeared to be a way for state legislatures to basically announce their intent that they supported abortion bans," Nash said. "But because the effective date was in the future, it was also not possible to challenge the bans because they weren't going into effect."

Over the past several decades, the National Right to Life Committee has succeeded in getting its model legislation drafts enacted across the country. One example is its draft of the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Act," which makes it illegal to perform abortions after 20 weeks, the point at which advocates claim a fetus²² can feel pain. National Right to Life's version of the bill has been enacted in 16 states, according to Duran, though it has been legally blocked in Idaho.

Beginning in 2016, 13 states have passed NRLC's model legislation of the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which all include the same definition of "dismemberment." Kentucky used the same model but adopted its own "dismemberment" definition. Many of these laws were paused by legal disputes.

Also during the Trump²³ years, abortion rights supporters say they began to notice terms like "unborn child" as opposed to "fetus" or "embryo²⁴" in legislation text that was ultimately signed into law; the term is included in 12 of the 13 trigger laws.

The use of antiabortion model legislation is not new. In 2019, an investigation²⁵ from USA Today and the Arizona Republic found AUL was the top group to write legislation limiting abortion access that was introduced and passed in statehouses nationwide.

The two organizations have also served as resources for local organizations looking to craft bills. For example, Louisiana's trigger law is not necessarily based on any one model but Louisiana Right to Life uses legal counsel and advice from the national organization, NRLC.

Supreme Court influenced the influencers

Duran said that when drafting model legislation, much of it was aimed at former Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired²⁶ in 2018, because he was perceived as the swing vote on the court.

"We were looking at what brand new question could we ask the Supreme Court. And at that time if we're looking at a Kennedy court...we were like, well, let's ask a different question," Duran said, adding that the group had a legislation strategy that focused on pain-based arguments in case of a larger lawsuit²⁷. Bills like the Pain Capable Unborn Child Act were assumed to get more support from Kennedy than stricter bans.

The 13 trigger laws expected to go into effect in coming weeks were all passed by their respective legislatures during two periods: between 2005 and 2007, during the Bush administration, and between 2019 and 2021, during the Trump administration. During both, the Supreme Court gained additional conservative justices.

"It really just depends on the political climate. It depends on what can you get passed and also the legislative strategy," Duran said, noting that in the past two decades some states opted¹⁶ for measures that limited access while others chose to pursue trigger laws.

Former President Donald Trump campaigned and fulfilled his promise of appointing additional justices and judges who opposed abortion rights.

Nash said the two most recent waves of abortion bans happened following the appointments of Justices Brett Kavanaugh, in time for states' 2019 legislative sessions, and Amy Coney Barrett, in time for the 2021 legislative sessions.

"Our strategy was to put more protective language out there to see what can we do and whether it is trying different pieces of legislation like antidiscrimination abortion bills, trying to protect unborn children even earlier in pregnancy," Duran said. "It allowed us to become a little bolder in our ask when we had a more friendlier court...It allowed us to get a little more creative with our laws and seeing just how far can we go to effectively protect unborn children."

Moving forward: Local influence reigns²⁸

But each of the trigger laws is not necessarily based on a copy-and-paste format²⁹ of a model bill written by the national groups, with local groups that oppose abortion rights and affiliate³⁰ with the national organizations having heavier influence.

During the first wave of abortion bans between 2005 and 2007, Nash said, legislation was mainly spearheaded by local grassroots efforts. During the consequent wave of bans in 2019 and after, local affiliates³¹ continued pressing forward.

"On the one hand, it does mean that what you see coming from states isn't necessarily coming from voters in those states, but it is coming more from anti-abortion groups in those states versus³² nationally. So each law is more tailored to the conditions in the state," said Mary Ziegler, legal historian and law professor at Florida State University. On the other hand, she noted³³, the national nature of the movement resulted in more moderated measures. "There was sort of things that even though the movement's agenda was pretty much the same, there were things that weren't said or done because it was viewed as sort of jeopardizing³⁴ the bigger plan."

Such provisions could include any law that wouldn't stand against a legal dispute nationally.

"It's a free-for-all one because before there was much more coordination³⁵. Americans United for Life and National Right to Life Committee basically coordinated³⁶ everything," Ziegler said. "You would know which groups to look at and why. And now I think it isn't that way. So which groups are going to dictate³⁷? The strategy may depend on the state."

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 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

4 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

10 touts   

n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• Many vouchers are returned for cash, allowing touts and middle men to make a healthy margin. 许多月饼券都被兑换成现金，这让券贩子和中间商赚取了不蜚的利润。 来自互联网
• Spotting prey, the customary crowd of hustlers and touts swarmed around, jostling for my business. 照例有大群的拉客黄牛在寻觅猎物，他们争相过来抢我的生意。 来自互联网

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 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

13 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

14 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。

15 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。

16 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

17 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

18 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

19 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

20 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

21 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

22 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。

23 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

24 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。

25 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

26 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

27 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。

28 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

29 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

30 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

31 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

32 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

33 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。

34 jeopardizing   

危及，损害( jeopardize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Plans may also become inefficient in the attainment of objectives by jeopardizing group satisfactions. 用危及群体利益方法去达到目标的计划，也是无效率的。
• That boosted government revenues in the short term, but is now jeopardizing them. Morales将天然气工业，电信业和部分采矿业收归国有的举措吓跑了投资者们。

35 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

36 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

37 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？