VOA慢速英语2012 THIS IS AMERICA - Why Birth Control Is Suddenly a Hot Issue

THIS IS AMERICA - Why Birth Control Is Suddenly a Hot Issue

 

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm June Simms.

BOB DOUGHTY¹: And I'm Bob Doughty. Birth control is usually a private issue. This week on our program, we look at some of the reasons why this issue has been getting a lot of public attention recently in the United States.

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JUNE SIMMS: Peter, Chris, Lisa and Patty are college students here in Washington. They all attend George Washington University. They also have something else in common. They are all Catholic. They share the belief of the Roman Catholic Church that using contraception to prevent new human life is morally wrong.

Peter -- we'll just use first names -- says he knows that belief puts him and his friends in a minority in the popular culture around them.

PETER: "I believe that our generation -- my generation -- has been brought up with a different form of family planning than our parents, than our grandparents. My mother's one of nine. I'm an only child. We were taught, 'Do you want to have that many kids?' Sort of pushed: 'Do you want to plan how many kids you have?'"

BOB DOUGHTY: Chris agrees. He remembers what he was taught at the public high school he attended in New Hampshire.

CHRIS: "The way they taught it was, the only way that you can definitely not get pregnant and not get an STD is to be abstinent². They also told you how to have -- quote, unquote -- safe sex."

In other words, Chris feels he got conflicting messages. Students were taught that they could avoid pregnancy³ and sexually transmitted diseases by avoiding sex. But at the same time they were also taught how to have so-called safe sex, like using condoms.

JUNE SIMMS: Different states have different requirements for offering sex education or "family life education" in public schools. Lisa grew up in a relatively⁵ conservative city in Colorado. Her teachers were not required to discuss contraception. Instead, she says they talked a lot about the importance of not having sex until marriage.

But Lisa says in popular culture, girls are often told they should go on birth control pills for reasons other than preventing pregnancy.

LISA: "'Birth control's the answer to everything.' You have a pimple⁶? You get birth control. You have a bad cramp⁷? You get birth control. It's the answer to a lot of things for girls. You're just annoyed and someone's like, 'Oh, just go get birth control.'"

Patty still remembers being shown images of untreated diseases when she was learning in school about the risks of having sex.

PATTY: "I remember we had to watch a lot of videos in my health class and -- ugh!"

BOB DOUGHTY: But teenagers appear to be paying attention to those warnings about STDs and lessons about sex education.

For most of the past twenty years, teen birthrates in the United States have fallen. The latest government report shows that the birthrate for teens age fifteen to nineteen fell to a record low in twenty-ten. There were thirty-four births for every one thousand teenagers. That was the lowest rate in almost seventy years of keeping records.

The Guttmacher Institute is a research and policy organization that works on sexual and reproductive health issues. It says nearly half of all pregnancies⁸ in the United States are unplanned. And of these, about four in ten are ended by abortion⁹.

Abortion rates began falling in the nineteen eighties. However, the rate of decrease slowed to a halt between two thousand five and two thousand eight, the most recent years available.

The Guttmacher Institute says nearly fifty million abortions¹⁰ took place between nineteen seventy-three and two thousand eight. Nineteen seventy-three was the year the Supreme¹¹ Court decided¹² that women have a legal right to abortion.

Three years earlier, Congress and President Richard Nixon agreed that the government should help pay for family planning services for the poor. But that does not include abortion. Under current law, federal funds can only be used to pay for abortions in cases of rape¹³, incest or to save the mother's life.

JUNE SIMMS: People may agree that unwanted pregnancies should be avoided in the first place. But that does not mean they agree on the issue of contraception.

In recent months, birth control has become a topic of heated debate. It started last December with a government decision about a birth control product called Plan B. Plan B, often called the "morning after pill," is meant as an emergency form of contraception. It can prevent pregnancy if taken up to seventy-two hours after unprotected sex.

Woman age seventeen and older can buy it at a drug store without a prescription¹⁴. Federal officials wanted to approve a request by Plan B's maker¹⁵ to also let girls under seventeen buy it without a prescription.

BOB DOUGHTY: But President Obama's secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebilius, intervened to block that approval. She said there was not enough research on the use of Plan B in younger girls.

Critics said the Obama administration was just trying to avoid what could have been a politically hot issue in the presidential campaign. They said making Plan B available without a doctor's order could help more teenagers prevent pregnancy. But supporters of the decision say younger teens who are worried about being pregnant should have to talk to an adult for guidance.

JUNE SIMMS: Another cause of the birth control debate came in January. The administration announced that all health plans provided by employers will have to pay the full cost of women's preventive services, including birth control.

Women would not have to pay any extra, like the co-payment that Elia was making for birth control pills. Elia is twenty-three. She says she wants to start a family but wants to finish her education first. But she says her daily pills were costing too much.

ELIA: "It's a burden for somebody my age to have to think about how to afford even just the co-pay of twenty dollars a month for birth control. I have a good job, but twenty dollars a month every single month ends up being quite a bit over the course of a year."

So Elia says she has stopped using the Pill and started using condoms. The cost is lower, but experts say the risk of an accidental pregnancy is higher.

David Downing is a women's health doctor at Washington Hospital Center. He says Elia's story is common.

DAVID DOWNING: "Some patients do make decisions based on their pocketbooks. And sometimes that decision doesn't necessarily go along with what the best medical recommendation is."

Dr. Downing says not having to pay for contraception would help about eighty percent of his patients. He says women would have more control over their reproductive health and there would be fewer unplanned pregnancies.

BOB DOUGHTY: But opponents say the government does not have a right to tell employers what health services they must provide to their workers. Most Americans buy health insurance through their jobs and share the cost with their employers.

(SOUND)

In March, opponents held protests in a number of cities. A fourteen-year-old girl named Veronica took part in a demonstration¹⁶ outside the Health and Human Services building in Washington.

VERONICA: "It's a horrible thing that our government is forcing upon us."

The debate also has a religious connection. This involves employers such as schools or hospitals that are part of religious organizations that do not believe in birth control. They say requiring them to provide health coverage¹⁷ for contraception would violate their constitutional right to religious freedom.

A Catholic mother named Heather brought her five children to last month's rally in Washington. She explained how she sees the issue.

HEATHER: "What if one of my children grows up and owns a company, and they have employees that are demanding that my children pay for their abortions or their contraception? That's completely unjust and against our Constitution."

The policy would not require insurance companies to pay for abortions. Also, the administration has proposed what it considers a compromise with religious groups so that some would not have to follow the new policy.

The policy is supposed to take effect this August as part of the Obama administration's major health law, known as the Affordable¹⁸ Care Act. Before then, however, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the future of the law itself.

Some people, especially critics, call it Obamacare. Congress passed it in twenty-ten. Last month the Supreme Court heard arguments about major parts of the law. These include a requirement for most Americans to have health insurance by twenty-fourteen or pay a fine.

Opponents say the Constitution does not give the government the right to require individuals to buy something. Supporters say the goal is to keep down costs for everyone and prevent people who do not have insurance from waiting until they get sick to buy it. The law bars insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June.

JUNE SIMMS: Some Democrats¹⁹ accuse Republicans of leading a "war on women" by opposing measures like the new contraception policy. Mitt⁴ Romney, the leading Republican presidential candidate, told one young woman if she wanted "free stuff" from the government, she should vote for President Obama.

The majority of American voters are women. Public opinion surveys show Mr. Obama with a large lead among women in the most competitive "battleground" states. But how important an issue is birth control in the race toward Election Day in November?

In a national Gallup Poll in late March, fifty-five percent of women voters rated government policies on birth control as important. Only thirty-five percent of men agreed.

Women are more likely than men to identify themselves as Democrats. And Democrats are much more likely than independents or Republicans to say birth control policies will be important to their vote. But even Democrats rated those policies last on a list of important issues. Among all voters, the top issues were health care, unemployment, the federal budget deficit²⁰, international issues and gasoline prices.

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BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by Kelly Nuxoll and produced by Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

JUNE SIMMS: And I'm June Simms. Tell us what you think about these issues. Share your comments at www.voanews.cn, where you can also find all of our programs with transcripts²¹, MP3s and podcasts. You also can find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 abstinent   

adj.饮食有度的，有节制的，禁欲的；n.禁欲者

参考例句：

• Indeed,very many females and males are neither abstinent nor sexually exclusive.真实的情形是，非常多的男男女女既不禁欲也不性专一。
• During treatment,sexual activity should be abstinent.治疗期间，宜节制房事。

3 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。

4 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 pimple   

n.丘疹，面泡，青春豆

参考例句：

• His face was covered with pimples.他满脸粉刺。
• This is also a way to prevent the pimple.这也是防止疙瘩的一个途径。

7 cramp   

n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚

参考例句：

• Winston stopped writing,partly because he was suffering from cramp.温斯顿驻了笔，手指也写麻了。
• The swimmer was seized with a cramp and had to be helped out of the water.那个在游泳的人突然抽起筋来，让别人帮着上了岸。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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

11 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。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 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。

14 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

15 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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》

20 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

21 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句