美国国家公共电台 NPR With Higher Stakes In The Abortion Debate, Activists March On Washington

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Big crowds are going to be marching through Washington, D.C., this weekend, and a major focus is going to be on abortion¹ and reproductive rights. The anti-abortion rights March For Life kicks off its annual rally today, followed by a march to the Supreme² Court. And then tomorrow, progressive women from around the country and their allies will gather for the Women's March, which was first organized in 2017 in response to President Trump³'s election.

NPR's Sarah McCammon covers the abortion debate and is going to be at both marches. She's in our studios this morning. Hi, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

GREENE: So I think, I mean, on all sides of debates like abortion, people would say there's always a lot at stake. Is that especially so this year, in 2019?

MCCAMMON: It really feels that way. I mean, remember, it was just not even a year ago, right, that Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement⁵ last summer. And that set up a huge debate over these issues. He had been the swing vote on the Supreme Court for a lot of issues, including reproductive rights. And now abortion rights opponents are feeling more hopeful than they have in a long time that they could see Roe⁶ v. Wade⁷ overturned or weakened. That, of course, is the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. This march, the March For Life, in opposition⁸ to abortion, has been happening almost since that time. But organizers and activists⁹ are hopeful as they head into this year's march.

GREENE: So as we look at the March For Life happening, we're going to see more optimism and more of a sense of hope and mission that 2019 could be different for them. Is that fair to say?

MCCAMMON: For sure. They're cautiously optimistic, though, I would say. Not necessarily expecting Roe to be overturned wholesale¹⁰, but they do see a big opportunity to advance state laws restricting abortion more deeply than they've been able to in the past. Here's Tom McClusky of March For Life.

TOM MCCLUSKY: If you were to ask me during the 2016 campaign that President Trump would be the one that would help in putting in these pro-life policies, I probably would have thought you were crazy. But it's certainly a much different scenario¹¹ now, with both Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the bench.

MCCAMMON: And we hear this a lot from anti-abortion rights activists. They're happy with what President Trump is doing, his efforts to restrict public funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood and his appointees to the judiciary.

GREENE: Well, on the flip¹² side of this, how much anxiety are we going to be sensing from abortion rights activists in this moment?

MCCAMMON: Right. They're concerned. They say they're also energized¹³. I would expect to hear about this tomorrow at the Women's March. Planned Parenthood is one of the partner sponsors for that march. I spoke¹⁴ recently with Dr. Leana Wen, who's the new president of Planned Parenthood, and here's what she said.

LEANA WEN: This is a time where everything is on the line. I mean, with Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, we are facing a situation where, within the next year, Roe v. Wade could very well be further eroded¹⁵ or overturned.

MCCAMMON: And so abortion rights activists are organizing at the state level around these issues, trying to firm up support for abortion rights in statehouses. And they're pointing to the fact that a lot of new Democrats¹⁶ were just elected to statehouses and, of course, to Congress, many of them women, and others who campaigned on issues including reproductive rights. So they see that as a good sign.

GREENE: You mentioned organizing at the state level. I mean, these marches are going to be in Washington but, as we've learned from your reporting, it's really important to follow, you know, cases working their way through states, not just at the Supreme Court.

MCCAMMON: For sure. This battle will play out in the courts, but also in statehouses around the country. If Roe is weakened, those state legislatures will become even more important in terms of regulating abortion.

GREENE: NPR's Sarah McCammon. Sarah, thanks a lot.

MCCAMMON: 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 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。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 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。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

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 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 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》

10 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

11 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

12 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。

13 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

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》