2007年VOA标准英语-Abortion Could Be Prominent Issue in 2008 US Pr

By Jim Malone
Washington
26 April 2007

The divisive issue of abortion¹ is likely to be a major point of debate in next year's U.S. presidential election, thanks to a recent ruling by the Supreme² Court. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

By a vote of five to four, the high court handed abortion opponents their most significant victory since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its famous 1973 decision known as Roe³ Versus⁴ Wade⁵.

The court upheld a law passed by Congress that bans a controversial late term procedure that opponents call partial birth abortion. The procedure involves partially⁷ removing the fetus⁸ from the mother's uterus and then crushing its skull⁹ to complete the abortion.

Anti-abortion demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington (File photo - 22 Jan 2007)

Anti-abortion activists¹¹ welcomed the ruling crafted by the court's narrow five-member conservative majority and predicted it would inspire more challenges to abortion in the individual states.

Anne Scheidler is executive director of a group called the Pro⁶ Life Action League.

"We will continue to be fighting all kinds of abortion," said Anne Scheidler. "But it is good news that the court has allowed a restriction¹². Every message we can get out about how tragic¹³ abortion is for everyone involved, the mom, the baby, the baby's father. You know, anybody who is involved in abortion is going to suffer from it."

Abortion rights supporters saw the high court's ruling as their most significant defeat since the landmark¹⁴ 1973 Roe Versus Wade decision that legalized abortion.

They argue the procedure is relatively¹⁵ rare and is sometimes necessary to protect the health of the mother.

Longtime abortion rights activist¹⁰ Kate Michelman described the ruling as a setback¹⁶ for women's rights that will encourage abortion opponents to press for even greater restrictions¹⁷ in the future.

"This decision not only threatens women's health and the practice of medicine and the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship, it threatens the fundamental dignity of women," said Kate Michelman. "One more [conservative] justice on the court and Roe Versus Wade will be overturned explicitly¹⁸."

The key vote on the majority side in the ruling belonged to the high court's newest member, Justice Samuel Alito. Alito replaced retired¹⁹ Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a longtime supporter of abortion rights on the court.

Andrew Cohen is a legal analyst²⁰ for CBS News.

"The calculus²¹ here does not favor supporters of abortion rights," he said. "The calculus favors opponents of it, because what you have had here is a huge shift to the right on the court. It is a shift that many people were concerned about, abortion rights supporters were concerned about, when Justice Alito was nominated, and now those fears have been confirmed."

Both sides in the abortion debate are mobilizing in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling and numerous legal challenges to abortion will now be fought out on the state level.

In addition, the high court decision has made it likely that abortion will figure as a major issue in the 2008 presidential election.

Tom DeFrank is Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a frequent guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.

"This is one area where President Bush has had some impact because he has had two appointees to the court, Chief Justice [John] Roberts and Associate Justice [Samuel] Alito, and they both voted in the majority on this, so I do believe there has been a shift. I think this is going to make the combatants on both sides of the abortion issue even more feverish²² about getting their money [fundraising] and their message out in advance of the 2008 presidential election."

Both sides in the abortion debate agree that the next president could tip the balance one way or the other on the issue, if he or she has the opportunity to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court.

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 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？

4 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。

5 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。

6 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

8 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

9 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 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》

12 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

13 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

14 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。

15 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。

16 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

17 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

18 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

20 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

21 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

22 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。