2006年VOA标准英语-South Dakota a Battleground in Abortion Debate

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
03 October 2006

A landmark¹ decision by the U.S. Supreme² Court legalized abortion³ in 1973, but the issue remains⁴ divisive.  The latest battleground is the state of South Dakota, where voters will decide in November whether to ban abortions⁵.  Both sides say the debate has national implications.

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		US Supreme Court, Washington DC

Law professor and author Sarah Weddington has been at the heart of the abortion debate since the early 1970s, when she successfully argued the case called Roe⁶ versus⁷ Wade⁸ before the U.S. Supreme Court.  The decision in favor of her client legalized abortion across the United States.  Weddington was just 26 years old, and it was the first contested case she had ever argued in a courtroom.

"The night before oral argument, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders because if you can't control your body, your reproductive decisions, then there's so little else about family size or employment or health or so many other things you can't control.   And so I really felt so intensely how important this case was," she said.

Weddington says the case was about choice, and the court decided⁹ that most laws that ban abortion violate a constitutional right to privacy.  Those on the other side of the issue, who call themselves "pro-life," say the case was not about women's rights, or about privacy.  David Bereit of the American Life League says it was not about the right to choose, either.

"Because really you have to ask, what is the choice? What is it that they want to be private?  What they want a choice for is the violent, unjust act of abortion, that destroys a living, pre-born person in the womb," he said.

Legislators in South Dakota passed a law this year that banned most abortions, and the governor signed the bill.  An exception is made for abortions done to save the life of the mother.

Pro-choice groups quickly collected signatures to get a measure on the ballot¹⁰ challenging the law, and voters will make their choice November 7.

Sarah Weddington says the dispute has national implications.  David Bereit agrees.

" We know of at least 12 other states right now that are lined up to introduce similar abortion bans, and there will probably be more," he added.  "So what happens on November 7 in South Dakota is going to affect the future of America."

Both sides say the South Dakota vote could go either way.  Whatever happens, the debate will not end in November.  If the abortion ban survives, pro-choice groups will challenge it in the courts, and the case will eventually reach the US Supreme Court. 

Most analysts¹¹ say the pro-choice side has the edge on the court today.  David Bereit says that could change, however.

"Some have speculated that right now, it's four votes [on the Supreme Court] that would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade, and five votes that would vote to uphold it currently, and that one change of a justice that has voted historically in support or affirmation of the Roe versus Wade decision could overturn Roe," he noted¹².

That possibility brings the debate back to politics.  A single retirement¹³ by a Supreme Court justice could change the court's direction.   In the event of a retirement, President Bush, an abortion opponent, would name a replacement¹⁴.  Supreme Court appointments must be confirmed by the Senate, where Mr. Bush's Republican Party now has a majority.  Analysts say because of that, the senate would be inclined to approve his nominee¹⁵.  Both the pro-choice and pro-life sides will be closely monitoring the election.

Sarah Weddington says women have always found ways to get abortions, and since the procedure was legalized 33 years ago, they can do it safely.

She says she remembers conditions before that.

"That was when doctors often were talking in our public hospitals about IOB, 'infected obstetrics wards,' where they with their residents and interns¹⁶ were trying to deal with women who had done self-abortion, had illegal abortions that left them with infections and all kinds of problems," she recalled.

David Bereit says abortion is unsafe, even performed by a doctor.

"Many women have died from abortions," he said.  "Tens and hundreds of thousands more have been wounded emotionally, spiritually, psychologically by abortions.  And so we can't accept the misnomer¹⁷ that abortion is currently safe."

Pro-choice advocates say the pro-lifers are distorting the medical data.

Neither side is willing to compromise.  Pro-life advocates say human life begins at conception and that abortion at any stage kills an unborn child.  Pro-choice supporters say the issue is difficult and that the decision should be left to a woman and her doctor.

Both sides agree that the debate will intensify¹⁸ and be argued state-by-state, as well as at the national level in Washington.  Any abortion law is likely to be challenged, with the final decision left to the Supreme Court.  This term, the high court will review a federal law that bans a late-term procedure that critics call a partial birth abortion.  Lower courts have struck down the ban, which Congress approved in 2003.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

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 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。

4 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。

5 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

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 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。

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 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。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 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。

14 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

15 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

16 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

17 misnomer   

n.误称

参考例句：

• Herbal"tea"is something of a misnomer because these drinks contain no tea at all.花草“茶”是一个误称，因为这类饮料里面根本不含茶。
• Actually," Underground "is a misnomer,because more than half the shops are above ground.实际上，“ 地下 ” 这个名称用之不当，因为半数以上的店铺是在地面上的。

18 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。