美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Texas judge rules coverage of anti-HIV medicine violates religious freedom

A Texas judge rules coverage¹ of anti-HIV medicine violates religious freedom

Transcript²

The judge in Texas ruled that a requirement for businesses to provide health insurance that covers HIV-preventative drugs violates the religious freedom of some Christian³ employers.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In Texas, a federal judge has ruled that businesses are not required to cover a medication that prevents HIV infection. That medication is best known as PrEP. Experts say this decision could also jeopardize⁴ access to many other preventative health services that the Affordable⁵ Care Act requires employers to cover. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán covers politics and government for the Texas Newsroom. Sergio, so tell us how this case got started.

SERGIO MART?NEZ-BELTR?N, BYLINE⁶: Sure. So this lawsuit⁷ was brought by a group of Christian business owners who claimed that requiring them to cover certain preventive services violated their religious freedoms. And those services include PrEP, the anti-HIV drug, contraceptives, drug addiction⁸ counseling and STD screening. One of those who sued the federal government is a Christian-operated corporation called Braidwood Management, which is owned by Texas Republican megadonor Steven Hotze. Hotze claimed the Affordable Care Act requirement that health plans cover PrEP would make his company, quote, "facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior." And so this federal judge in Texas, Reed O'Connor, sided with Hotze. In his ruling, the judge said that Hotze was able to prove that the PrEP mandate⁹ substantially burdens his religious freedoms.

MART?NEZ: So how did this ruling go over?

MART?NEZ-BELTR?N: I mean, I think it certainly created some waves yesterday when the decision came down. Judge O'Connor was appointed by President George W. Bush. He is a former aide to a Texas Republican senator, active in conservative circles. In 2018, for instance, he ruled that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. However, the U.S. Supreme¹⁰ Court overturned his decision a few years later. And also, you know, the main attorney representing the plaintiffs is Jonathan Mitchell. He's the mastermind behind Texas anti-abortion¹¹ law that empowers citizens to sue those who aid an abortion. So he's been somewhat successful with these types of lawsuits¹² and laws. I don't think it was a surprise, you know? But it still moved many people because of the potential implications his decision could have not only for access to PrEP, but for all kinds of other health care services.

MART?NEZ: On those implications, tell us more about how other services or medications might be impacted.

MART?NEZ-BELTR?N: Well, the ruling took aim at a popular provision of the Affordable Care Act, which mandates¹³ free coverage of many preventive services, including birth control, breast cancer and heart disease screenings and vaccines¹⁴. And that's because Judge O'Connor also ruled that the panel of experts who help decide what preventive services needed to be covered by health insurers were actually appointed unconstitutionally. So this ruling could jeopardize many other types of health care, like cancer screenings, that people depend on. You know, in fact, the American Medical Association estimates that just in 2020, more than 151 million people received free preventive care because of this mandate in the ACA.

MART?NEZ: Then what does this mean for Americans who currently have these health care services covered?

MART?NEZ-BELTR?N: Unfortunately, we don't quite know yet. It's a broad ruling. The judge has yet to specify¹⁵ how his decision should be implemented¹⁶. You know, it's likely the federal government will appeal because of the potential impact on the lives of millions of Americans.

MART?NEZ: Sergio Martínez-Beltrán covers politics and government for the Texas Newsroom. Thanks a lot.

MART?NEZ-BELTR?N: Thanks for having me.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 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。

7 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。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

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 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。

12 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

13 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

14 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

15 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

16 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