美国国家公共电台 NPR--Where efforts stand on Capitol Hill to codify abortion protections

Where efforts stand on Capitol Hill to codify¹ abortion² protections

Transcript³

NPR's Asma Khalid talks to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia about efforts by a bipartisan group of senators to codify abortion after the Supreme⁵ Court overturned Roe⁶ v. Wade⁷.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Today, a referendum in Kansas will determine whether the state's constitution is amended⁸ to allow lawmakers to restrict or even outright⁹ ban abortion. It's the first ballot¹⁰ test on reproductive rights since Roe was overturned, and it comes as a small group of bipartisan senators on Capitol Hill are trying to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law. Joining us now to talk about that is one of the senators working on this very bill - that's Democrat⁴ Tim Kaine of Virginia. And good morning to you, Senator.

TIM KAINE: Asma, great to be with you today.

KHALID: So Senator, for the past few weeks, you have been working with your Republican colleagues, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, on this bill to codify abortion rights. And Senator, I hope you do not mind me potentially pouring cold water on your efforts...

KAINE: (Laughter).

KHALID: ...But I don't really see how you get to 60 votes - how you are able to pass this in the law. So help me understand your path.

KAINE: You bet, Asma. Well, I'll get to the punch line - we didn't have 60 votes for a gun safety bill either a few months ago, but then the tragedies of Buffalo¹¹ and Uvalde, Texas, led us there. We had to do something. I think the post-Dobbs reality of the United States, where 10-year-olds are having to be smuggled¹² across borders to receive care after a rape¹³, is going to lead us to a position where we cannot do nothing, but must enshrine a federal guarantee. So that's what I think is going to happen. I think I see where the puck is going on this. You're right - we don't have 60 votes today. But just as in the gun bill, I think the shocking developments post Dobbs will get us there.

So I did begin working with colleagues on this in May. We had a bill that I voted for - the Women's Health Protection Act - in February. It only got 49 votes. We set it up for another vote in May, and it was clear to me it was only going to get 49 votes. And I really worried about the effect of sending a message that less than a majority of the Senate wanted to protect reproductive freedom. And I also felt like we had left some votes on the table. So I started to work with colleagues who sincerely wanted to codify the holdings of Roe and other cases - Griswold - but had not voted for the Women's Health Protection Act. And I said, how could we come up with a bill that you'd feel comfortable with? That was the origin of it. And with the introduction of the bill yesterday, even though there's differences in wording, it's now clear that a majority of the Senate wants to provide a statutory guarantee of reproductive freedom that would essentially¹⁴ match what the law was before the Dobbs decision.

KHALID: So Senator, it sounds like - and you mentioned this bill earlier in May that only got 49 votes, including the fact that it did not get a vote from your own fellow Democrat, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. It sounds like some of the concerns from a few folks at that time period was that that bill would expand abortion access. Do you face and are you facing similar objections to this latest proposal?

KAINE: No. That does not seem to be an objection, and I'll tell you why. We really tried, with the Reproductive Freedom Act, to basically look at the Dobbs decision, and then this bill was like a time machine. What would we need to do in federal statute¹⁵ to take the legal guarantee to where it was the day before Dobbs was decided¹⁶? Now, not everybody liked that reality, but it has the benefit of the fact that women at least had been able to rely on it for about 50 years. So the Women's Health Protection Act was sort of put together in a different way. It was written before Dobbs. It tried to imagine - well, first, what are states doing to mess around with abortion rights? Can we stop that? And what might we imagine they would do in the future? Can we stop that? We really wrote our bill a different way after Dobbs. What do we need to do to take federal law to the place it was the day before Dobbs and put that guarantee into statutory form since the Supreme Court has abandoned constitutional protection of reproductive freedom?

KHALID: So Senator, I want to ask you about one of the points of criticism I have heard about the bill that you all are putting forward because even those on the left who would like to see abortion access made into federal law have been, you know, somewhat skeptical¹⁷ of this effort. I was struck by a statement from the head of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who said that this bill was a, quote, "political stunt," and "unless these senators are willing to end the filibuster¹⁸ to pass this measure" - her words - "there's no reason to take it seriously." How do you respond?

KAINE: Well, nobody who knows me believes I engage in stunts¹⁹. I don't. And actually, if you want to look at our bill and compare it to something, the pro-choice community is advocating a ballot referendum in Michigan - the Reproductive Freedom for All act. You talked about the referendum today in Kansas. There's one on the ballot in Michigan in November. And our bill tracks not identically, but very, very close to a Michigan referendum that pro-choice activists²⁰ are promoting right now. We really tried to stick close to that. Now, I will say about the comment - we don't have 60 right now.

KHALID: Yep. Yeah.

KAINE: That's true. That is true. But, again, I've been here for 10 years, and I've seen other efforts where we didn't have 60, but then reality changed, and we were able to get there.

KHALID: Senator, we do have to wrap. I'm so sorry. But thank you very much. We really appreciate you taking the time.

KAINE: You bet.

KHALID: That's Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

1 codify   

v.将法律、法规等编成法典

参考例句：

• The noble,Dracon,was asked to codify the laws.贵族德拉古被选为立法者。
• The new government promised to codify the laws.新政府应允要编纂法典。

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 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。

5 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。

6 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？

7 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。

8 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

11 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

12 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 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。

15 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 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。

19 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》