California Considers Medical Abortion on Public College Campuses

 

The state of California is making a new move in the dispute over abortion¹ in the United States. In January, state lawmakers voted to require all 34 public universities in California to offer students medication to induce abortion. In order to become law, the bill will need to be approved by the Assembly.

A medication abortion permits a woman to force a miscarriage² by taking two pills within the first 10 weeks of becoming pregnant. Since the option came available to women in the U.S. in 2000, medical abortions³ have become more common as a way to end a pregnancy⁴. Today, they account for more than 20 percent of U.S. abortions, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports medication abortions are also increasing worldwide, both as legal and secret measures. The WHO says the number of medical abortions has “likely contributed” to lower rates of secret abortions that result in injury and death to women.

But few U.S. colleges provide medication abortions. And none of California’s public universities currently offers them. The latest move to require University of California and California State schools to offer the service has introduced another point of debate in an already severely⁵ disputed issue.

Why is the move controversial?

Abortion has been legal in the U.S. since the 1973 Supreme⁶ Court decision called Roe⁷ versus⁸ Wade⁹. But that decision also says that states can make some restrictions¹⁰ on abortion. For example, many states require women seeking abortions to wait a certain number of weeks or to have an ultrasound – a medical test that allows them to see inside their uterus.

And regardless of national or state laws, public and political opinions about abortion in the U.S. remain sharply divided.

Opponents of the California state senate decision include the Students for Life of America. The group aims to end abortion not only on campuses, but across the country.

A spokesperson for the group, Kristi Hamrick, told VOA over email: “There are no educational goals that will be met by expanding a university’s mandate¹¹ to include ending pre-born life.” Hamrick adds that schools should be concerned with students’ safety; yet, the president of the Students for Life group says medication abortions bring dangerous risks to women.

Another group, the California Catholic Conference, says the proposed law does not really respect a person’s decision to continue a pregnancy. Ned Dolejsi is the executive director of the group. He told VOA, “They [supporters] are not there to honor the life-affirming and life-giving choices that our faith would support. They’re all-in on encouraging a young woman to have an abortion.”

The California Family Council said the state had gone too far in this case, and even some California State University officials expressed concern about the details of the proposal. A spokesperson for the CSU chancellor’s office says the requirement will impose high costs for insurance, safety measures, medical training, and 24-hour support for medical emergencies.

Supporters see benefits

But people who support the bill see many benefits. Senator Connie Leyva wrote the bill. She said that, for women seeking an abortion, acting¹² quickly is important. Providing the medication on campus will ensure that women do not need a car or will have to miss class to find a doctor. And the student clinic will accept a student’s health insurance plan.

Leyva said, “I firmly believe that all students should be able to decide what to do with their own bodies and when to factor a family into their life. After all, women do not lose the constitutional right to end a pregnancy simply because they are a college student.”

If the bill to require medication abortions on California public universities passes, a group of private donors¹³ plans to help fund the effort. They say they will pay for up to $20 million in startup costs, including equipment and training for the staff.

“We believe that if they just learned what was required and were trained that they would realize that it’s very straightforward¹⁴ and a huge, huge value to their patients,” said Dr. Ruth Shaber. Shaber leads the Tara Foundation, one of the promised donors.

The bill’s sponsors estimate that between 19 and 32 students on California campuses would seek a medication abortion each month.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

miscarriage - n. a condition when a pregnancy ends and does not result in the birth of a live baby

uterus - n. the organ in women and some female animals in which babies develop before birth

mandate - n. an official order to do something

all-in - adj. allowing almost anything

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 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

3 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

4 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。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

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 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 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。

10 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

11 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。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。