美国国家公共电台 NPR--Kansas is struggling to serve people from out of state seeking abortions

Kansas is struggling to serve people from out of state seeking abortions²

Transcript³

As a nationwide trend of states banning or placing more restrictions⁴ on abortion¹ continues, Kansas, where abortion remains⁵ legal, struggles to keep up with out of state client demand

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The U.S. Supreme⁶ Court decision to overturn Roe⁷ v. Wade⁸ triggered abortion bans and restrictions in states across the country, but not in Kansas. Voters there recently rejected an amendment⁹ that could have led to an abortion ban. Now it's hard for providers in Kansas to keep up as people from across the country seek services there. Rose Conlon of member station KMUW and the Kansas News Service reports.

ROSE CONLON, BYLINE¹⁰: On the sidewalk outside the Trust Women clinic in Wichita, anti-abortion protesters shout at cars turning into the parking lot, recording¹¹ their license¹² plates.

MIKE HAGAN: A silver truck, I didn't even see who was in it.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's a Texas number.

CONLON: Mike Hagan has been protesting here since 1991. These days, he's seeing more cars from out of state.

HAGAN: We get, like, about a third, a third and a third - a third from Texas, a third from Oklahoma and a third from Kansas. We have - definitely because of the laws that have changed. We didn't used to get things from Texas, and now we do.

CONLON: He's not the only one to see a shift.

(SOUNDBITE OF PHONE RINGING)

CONLON: Inside the clinic, phones are ringing, and only a handful of callers are from Kansas. Demand at the clinic has increased as nearby states implemented¹³ bans. During the first six months of last year, the clinic performed less than 800 abortions. That number jumped to more than 1,300 during the same period this year, and the number of out-of-state patients increased sevenfold. Christina Bourne is the clinic's medical director.

CHRISTINA BOURNE: We truly could be doing abortion care 24 hours a day, and we would not meet the demand.

CONLON: Staff say people coming from farther away tend to be further along in their pregnancies¹⁴ and need more involved procedures. Because of the rise, clinic director Ashley Brink¹⁵ says they're turning more people away.

ASHLEY BRINK: Being honest with them that, like, yeah, my next available appointment isn't for two or three weeks. I recommend either calling back on Monday or calling other facilities in other states.

CONLON: And the pressure on Kansas clinics is only likely to increase as more states tighten¹⁶ abortion restrictions. Planned Parenthood Great Plains recently launched a new center out of Wichita to help pregnant people navigate¹⁷ growing logistical hurdles¹⁸, and it opened a new clinic in Kansas City just days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. The group's president, Emily Wales, calls Kansas an essential point of access.

EMILY WALES: It does mean that there are some more appointments on the schedule, but we are still realistic that there's more need than we're going to be able to meet right now.

CONLON: Even though abortion is legal in Kansas, there are restrictions, including a mandatory¹⁹ 24-hour waiting period and a ban after 22 weeks, except in rare cases. Getting abortion pills via telemedicine is also prohibited. So some groups work to expand access. Just west in Colorado, telehealth provider JustThePill opened a new mobile clinic out of a van. That means Kansans can drive over the state line and pick up abortion pills from a lockbox. A new nonprofit called Elevated Access has recruited some 800 volunteer pilots to fly patients to appointments on private planes. And abortion funds are in overdrive, especially those that help with travel. Alison Dreith is with Midwest Access Coalition²⁰, which helps people pay for and coordinate²¹ flights, hotels and child care.

ALISON DREITH: We're being so overworked in this moment that we're still kind of in that emergency phase just because there's so many clients to deal with.

CONLON: But the future of abortion rights in Kansas remains uncertain. Despite suffering a major loss early in August, when Kansans voted overwhelmingly to keep abortion rights intact, opponents have vowed²² to keep fighting to restrict access. And all but one of the state's Supreme Court justices are up for retention²³ votes this fall, which could call the court's protection of abortion rights into question.

For NPR News, I'm Rose Conlon in Wichita.

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 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

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 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

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 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。

7 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？

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 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。

13 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

16 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

17 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。

18 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

19 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

20 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

21 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

22 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

23 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。