美国国家公共电台 NPR--Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over abortion guidance

Texas Attorney General Ken¹ Paxton sues Biden administration over abortion² guidance

Transcript³

NPR speaks with Elizabeth Sepper, a professor at The University of Texas School of Law, about a Texas lawsuit⁴ against President Joe Biden's over emergency abortions⁵.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Biden administration over its guidance about emergency abortions. On Monday, the administration reaffirmed federal rules from the Health and Human Services Department, saying women must have access to abortion services in situations where their life is in danger. But the lawsuit highlights the degree of conflict between federal and state law now that Roe's been overturned. Joining us to talk about it is Elizabeth Sepper. She's a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Thank you so much for being with us.

ELIZABETH SEPPER: Thanks for having me.

MARTIN: May I ask you to begin by explaining Paxton's legal argument?

SEPPER: Yeah. So the argument is that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor⁶ Act, the federal law, doesn't preempt⁷ the Texas abortion ban. So Paxton says that EMTALA doesn't say anything specific about abortion, and therefore, hospitals don't have to provide abortion, but rather, EMTALA requires them to provide the care they would normally provide to patients.

MARTIN: How strong is that argument?

SEPPER: It's pretty weak. A lot of the cases that Paxton cites to involves different parts of EMTALA that don't have to do with what is called stabilization⁸. So the guidance from HHS that we received this week says that when patients arrive with an emergency medical condition related to pregnancy⁹ and they need abortion care, that's part of what EMTALA requires. And that's pretty much been the law since EMTALA was passed way back in the early '80s, as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires treating emergency medical conditions of pregnant people.

MARTIN: So can you explain the real-world implications of what the Texas attorney general is arguing? I mean, if a person who needs an abortion because their life is in danger is denied one, I mean, what is the attorney general saying - that they're not entitled to that lifesaving procedure?

SEPPER: Yeah. So EMTALA requires hospitals to provide emergency medical care. The Texas abortion ban says they can't unless the person's life is at stake or where there's substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

MARTIN: OK, so there is an exemption¹⁰ if your life is being threatened.

SEPPER: There is an exemption if your life is in - at risk. But EMTALA is broader, and it requires hospitals to act. So basically, HHS issued this guidance earlier this week in part to tell hospitals, hey, you have to think about your obligations to patients in emergency conditions. You can't just think about your threat of criminal prosecution¹¹ from Ken Paxton and the state of Texas. And we know what's happened under SB 8, where hospitals are - have been really only concerned about the state of Texas coming after them. They have engaged in really wide-ranging interpretations¹² of the bans without treating patients in accordance with the standard of care.

So we've seen patients sent out of state when they were suffering from ectopic pregnancies¹³. We've seen patients turned away because they were miscarrying. And so it was a real reminder¹⁴ from the federal government that hospitals are risking Medicare and Medicaid dollars if they send patients away. So Texas' lawsuit is meant to, again, shift the balance and tell hospitals not to treat patients in accordance with the standard of care.

MARTIN: What does this mean, though, for people in this actual moment who may be in need of an emergency abortion?

SEPPER: It means that we're dealing¹⁵, as we have been dealing in Texas since SB 8 became law on September 1, with real uncertainty¹⁶ about what providers can do...

MARTIN: Yeah.

SEPPER: ...What the law even is, what an emergency is. And we know that pregnant people, people who are experiencing urgent situations, don't often understand what it means to meet these legal definitions, nor do doctors.

MARTIN: Elizabeth Sepper from the University of Texas law school. Thank you.

SEPPER: Thank you.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 preempt   

v.先发制人；先取

参考例句：

• We arrived early at the theatre so as to preempt the front seats.我们早早来到剧院，以便捷足先登占到前排座位。
• He pre-empted any decision to sack him.他预先阻止了所有解雇他的决定。

8 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

9 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。

10 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

11 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

12 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。