美国国家公共电台 NPR--An all-trimester abortion clinic prepares to open in Maryland, one of few nationally

An all-trimester abortion¹ clinic prepares to open in Maryland, one of few nationally

Transcript²

On a steamy morning in late July, a moving truck maneuvers³ up to a brick office complex in College Park, Md., outside Washington, D.C.

Shrink-wrapped inside the truck are the workings of a clinic that will offer abortions⁴ through all trimesters of pregnancy⁵: an ultrasound machine, recovery room chairs, patient gowns, and boxes upon boxes of medical instruments and equipment.

"I'm looking at this and really glad we got the 26-foot truck, 'cause it's a ton of stuff!" says Dr. Diane Horvath, an obstetrician-gynecologist and co-owner of the upcoming clinic, Partners in Abortion Care.

When it opens sometime after Labor⁶ Day, Partners in Abortion Care will be one of only a handful of clinics in the United States that offer abortions into the third trimester — in this case, up to 34 weeks' gestation⁷. A full-term pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks.

The clinic expects to treat an influx⁸ of patients coming north from states with abortion bans enacted⁹ after the Supreme¹⁰ Court decision in June that overturned Roe¹¹ v. Wade¹².

All-trimester abortion care "is a really politicized topic," Horvath says, "and it shouldn't be. Every time we draw a line and we say 'no more abortions after this point,' someone's going to fall on the other side of that line, and they're going to be harmed."

Rehomed equipment at a new clinic

The equipment in the moving truck has come full circle. The Maryland clinic bought all of it second-hand¹³ from a clinic in Savannah, Ga., that shut down in June after 40 years providing abortions.

It was one of many facilities that either shut down or stopped offering abortion services in states with bans enacted after Roe was overturned.

Georgia now bans most abortions after about six weeks.

By contrast, Maryland has liberal abortion laws, and in July a law took effect that further expands abortion access. Now, along with physicians, qualified¹⁴ health providers including physician assistants, nurse practitioners¹⁵, and midwives are allowed to perform abortions.

As they watch volunteers move the equipment into their office space, Horvath tears up and embraces her business partner, Morgan Nuzzo, a certified¹⁶ nurse-midwife.

"Whooh," Horvath says with a sigh. "I was thinking about how Georgia lost access to abortion, like, this week. And we're getting this equipment from them. So — it feels very heavy."

"We're going to take good care of the equipment," adds Nuzzo. "We keep talking about it as 'rehoming.' "

Third-trimester abortions are rare

According to the most recent statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vast majority of abortions in the United States were performed on or before 13 weeks' gestation. Fewer than 1% were performed on or after 21 weeks.

When their all-trimester clinic opens, Horvath and Nuzzo expect to treat perhaps 10 people each week.

It could be someone whose fetus¹⁷ has serious anomalies, which are often only discovered later in pregnancy.

It could be a patient whose continued pregnancy threatens their health.

It could be someone who didn't discover they were pregnant until after the first trimester.

Also, Horvath says, tightened¹⁸ abortion restrictions¹⁹ will inevitably²⁰ push patients seeking abortion care later into their pregnancies²¹.

"We're definitely going to be seeing people who wanted an abortion two or three months ago," she says, "and could not navigate²² the web of restrictions, or could not come up with the funding, or could not get transportation or child care or time off of work.

"That's a really common story," Horvath says. "And it's really sad, because it doesn't have to be this way."

Partners in Abortion Care expects it will be the southernmost facility offering abortions later in pregnancy.

As she anticipates the patients they'll serve, Nuzzo compares it to "opening floodgates."

"Somebody was saying the other day that a clinic in Maryland got 6,000 calls from patients in Georgia," Nuzzo says. "That's a daunting²³ thing, to think that you're just standing²⁴ there holding the gates closed. And just waiting for a flood of people to come in, in need."

Nuzzo has worked in abortion care for eight years. Many of those she's treated, she says, have been really young.

"They're children, you know?" she says. "And the worst things that you can imagine happening to people, have happened to the people that I've taken care of. Kidnappings, rape²⁵, incest, every type of abuse. And then the whole flip²⁶ side of finding out that something horrible has happened to the pregnancy that you thought was going to be OK."

Nuzzo considers it a "sacred relationship" to be with someone during such an intimate and difficult time.

Patient care technician Megan walks into the clinic. Co-owner Diane Horvath says the birds in the logo are "symbolic²⁷ of people being able to leave here and live their lives."

Bolstering²⁸ clinic security

Because theirs will be an all-trimester clinic, the owners know it will be high-profile and especially vulnerable as a potential target of violence.

So their offices are being fortified²⁹ with layers of extra security: Cameras. Heavy doors. Panic buttons.

When NPR visited in July, the front windows were getting coated with a layer of thick, tinted³⁰ security film to prevent shattering.

According to the National Abortion Federation³¹, there has been a steady rise in harassment³² and violence against abortion providers in recent years, including assaults, burglaries, and clinic invasions.

And the threat of murder looms³³, constantly.

Eleven people have been killed in attacks on clinics and providers since 1993.

"It's scary," says Nuzzo. "It's very hard to continue to do work when you think about all the violence that's directed at you. And it's not imagined. It's not made up. They want to kill us. They want to shoot us."

Which is why, Horvath says, they think about security at every step.

"I'm looking around all the time," she says. "I'm making sure that I have an awareness³⁴ of all of my surroundings. I always look at all the cameras before I leave."

This has been Horvath's life for the 16 years she's worked in abortion care.

"I don't want to normalize it," she says, "'cause it's not normal. But I still come to work and I do this job because it's too important to not do it. I mean, the whole point of terrorism is to make you afraid. And what the anti-abortion folks are doing is terrorism."

Medical equipment from an abortion provider in Georgia that recently shut down is offloaded at the site of the Partners in Abortion Care clinic.

A patchwork³⁵ of funding

To launch their clinic, the partners have cobbled together funding from a variety of sources.

For starters, the women in Nuzzo's book group donated $15,000.

"These aren't people who have gobs of money," Nuzzo says. "These are people who did it because it was important."

A GoFundMe campaign has brought in more than $360,000.

The partners also got a small-business loan and a foundation grant.

All in all, they figure, it's enough to get the clinic fully³⁶ staffed and off the ground for the first three to six months.

But when NPR visits the clinic again in mid-August, their hopes of opening right after Labor Day are mired³⁷ in red tape:

They've been stymied³⁸ by delays getting an updated application from the state of Maryland for their health care facility license³⁹. It's a typical bureaucratic⁴⁰ holdup, Horvath says — nothing targeted at them specifically. But she's still frustrated⁴¹.

"This is very time-sensitive for us, as you can imagine," she says. "We have a lot of people that need this care and have very few other options. And so I'm like – 'C'mon guys, like, we really need to get this together.' "

Meantime, they're hiring and training staff, including two nurses, Paige and Kayla, who asked that we use only their first names, out of security concerns.

Previously⁴², they both worked on maternity⁴³ wards⁴⁴ in labor and delivery.

For Kayla, offering abortion through all trimesters means providing basic, essential health care.

"I know that it can be controversial to some people, but it is part of the scope of women's health. And I am very passionate⁴⁵ about women's health, and I'm very passionate about safe abortion care," Kayla says.

For Paige, this summer's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade was a turning point.

"This June, I walked out of my grandfather's funeral and turned my phone on to the decision, blasted all over my phone," Paige recalls.

"And it was kind of like the slap in the face I needed of like, why am I not doing this? How many people are lucky enough to have the education, have the skills, and have the passion to be able to do something about it in such a personal level?"

The clinic's owners say they feel called to do this work.

Nuzzo would like people to understand this:

"You know, we're not monsters," she says. "We're trying to help people. We're really, really, really trying to help people who are in absolutely unimaginable situations."

By talking about their work, Nuzzo says, maybe it will help dissolve the stigma⁴⁶ around later abortion — and the people who seek it.

--NPR's Marisa Pe?aloza contributed to this report.

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 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

4 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

5 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。

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 gestation   

n.怀孕；酝酿

参考例句：

• The gestation period can be anything between 95 and 150 days.妊娠期从95天至150天不等。
• This film was two years in gestation.这部电影酝酿了两年。

8 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

9 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

10 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。

11 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？

12 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。

13 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

14 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

15 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

16 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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

20 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

21 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。

22 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

23 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

25 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。

26 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

27 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。

28 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

29 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

30 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

31 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

32 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

33 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

35 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

36 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

37 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

38 stymied   

n.被侵袭的v.妨碍，阻挠( stymie的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Relief efforts have been stymied in recent weeks by armed gunmen. 最近几周的救援工作一直受到武装分子的阻挠。 来自辞典例句
• I was completely stymied by her refusal to help. 由于她拒不相助， 我完全陷入了困境。 来自互联网

39 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

40 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

41 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

43 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

44 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

45 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

46 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。