美国国家公共电台 NPR--Kansans vote to keep abortion legal in the state, reject constitutional amendment

Kansans vote to keep abortion¹ legal in the state, reject constitutional amendment²

Transcript³

The first major abortion-related ballot⁴ initiative since the Supreme⁵ Court overturned Roe⁶ v. Wade⁷ has failed in Kansas. The amendment would have greatly tightened⁸ abortion laws in the state.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Voters in Kansas have rejected a ballot initiative that would have allowed lawmakers to significantly restrict abortion rights in the state. It's the first time voters have weighed in on the issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Yep. And the proposed amendment was rejected by a wide margin⁹, with nearly 60% voting no. At an election watch party, abortion rights supporters were overjoyed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ASHLEY ALL: You know, really, it's like - I'm speechless. Like, that's where we're at right now.

(CHEERING)

KHALID: That was Ashley All, spokesperson for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, speaking to supporters.

MART?NEZ: For more on what this means, we go to NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, who's in the Sunflower State. Danielle, Kansas abortion laws will still remain in place. Remind us what those laws are right now.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE¹¹: Sure. So right now Kansas allows abortion up to 22 weeks, and there are a number of restrictions¹² on that. For example, there's a 24-hour waiting period that patients have to observe, and they also have to undergo an ultrasound before the procedure. Now, a big thing protecting the rights there are here is a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that said the state Constitution protects the right to abortion. Now, this amendment we're talking about, had it passed, it would have removed that constitutional protection, which would have cleared the way for all sorts of restrictions, including potentially a ban on the procedure. And experts that I spoke¹⁰ with said it was very likely that strict laws on abortion would have passed.

So the fight is over for now, though one Democratic state representative I talked to last night said she's prepared for what she's calling a Republican backlash in November to oust¹⁴ Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.

MART?NEZ: But so far, it sounds like a big victory. Is it?

KURTZLEBEN: For abortion rights supporters, this is a huge victory. I mean, first of all, we had limited polling ahead of this, and it said that this was going to be close, and it really wasn't. Furthermore, Kansas, as you know, is a pretty conservative state. A Democrat¹³ hasn't won the state's electoral votes since 1964. So this is a big win for abortion rights. Now, one way to look at this is that it's in part a reflection of what broad polling on abortion shows us - that most Americans want there to be at least some legal abortion.

One more thing to note here is that the turnout was just huge. In 2018, primary turnout in the state was just north of 450,000. At latest count, more than 900,000 people voted on this measure. To be clear, Kansas isn't now a blue or purple state. There are plenty of independents and Republicans who voted no. They thought this was too extreme, and I talked to some of them myself. But look; in county after county, we saw the pro-abortion-rights vote far outperform what Joe Biden did in 2020, but come November, moderate voters may just be thinking about other issues, like inflation and crime, when they vote for Congress or governor. In other words, we shouldn't expect all these people to cross the aisle¹⁵ again.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. But I was thinking, though, other states have ballot measures about abortion this year, so does this maybe tell us anything about how those measures might do?

KURTZLEBEN: Sure. Well, I mean, one state to look to is Michigan, which is much purpler (ph). So this must be encouraging to abortion rights supporters there 'cause Kansas, of course, is just much redder. This also just shows that abortion can mobilize voters really heavily. Logically, this would probably encourage Democrats¹⁶ running against strongly anti-abortion-rights Republicans to lean hard into the issue.

MART?NEZ: NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks a lot.

KURTZLEBEN: Yes, thank you.

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 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

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 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。

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 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

9 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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

13 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。

14 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

15 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

16 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》