美国国家公共电台 NPR--Doctor who provided an abortion for a young rape victim speaks out

Doctor who provided an abortion¹ for a young rape² victim speaks out

Transcript³

Indiana doctor Caitlin Bernard, who provided a medication abortion for a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who had been raped⁴, says she has been harassed⁵ since coming under the national spotlight⁶.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

As Indiana lawmakers consider a bill that would ban most abortions⁷ in that state, an Indiana doctor is speaking out. Dr. Caitlin Bernard provided an abortion by medication for a 10-year-old girl from Ohio in late June after Ohio's trigger ban prohibiting most abortions took effect. NPR national correspondent Sarah McCammon covers reproductive rights. And she sat down for an interview with Dr. Bernard yesterday. And Sarah McCammon is with us now to talk about it. Good morning, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁸: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: So Sarah, why is Dr. Bernard speaking now?

MCCAMMON: Well, Dr. Bernard has been silent for several weeks as she faced attacks from prominent conservatives who questioned both the story about this 10-year-old patient and Dr. Bernard's credibility. Now, some of those attacks continued even after a 27-year-old man was charged with the girl's rape in Ohio and after the state of Indiana produced documents that appear to corroborate⁹ Bernard's account. And she told me she wants the public to understand from her perspective as a doctor that there are situations where pregnancies¹⁰ can go very wrong and where terminating a pregnancy¹¹ is the safest option for a person who's pregnant.

CAITLIN BERNARD: I think what's been lost in the political discourse¹² about abortion is that abortion is health care, that, again, there are so many situations that people may face for which abortion care is necessary, is life-saving. And I think it's important for people to understand the real-life impacts of the laws and this political discourse.

MCCAMMON: And, Leila, while she said she couldn't speak specifically about any particular patient, Dr. Bernard told me that every doctor who provides reproductive health care can remember their youngest patient, whether they provided an abortion or a delivery to her. And she said, unfortunately, these cases are not unheard of. And young girls do sometimes find themselves in tragic¹³ situations.

FADEL: Now, Dr. Bernard mentioned not only laws, like abortion bans, but also the political discourse around the issue. And like you mentioned, she's been attacked by prominent conservatives and public officials. How has that impacted her?

MCCAMMON: Well, she says she's experienced harassment¹⁴ along with a lot of support in these past few weeks. She is worried about the safety of her family. We should mention, in the past, she's faced threats. The FBI has been involved. Certainly, other abortion providers over the years have faced threats and violence. So it's a serious concern. Indiana's attorney general, Todd Rokita, has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that Bernard has failed to properly report abortions. Last week, speaking to a right-wing media outlet¹⁵ called Real America's Voice, he reiterated¹⁶ those claims. And he accused Bernard of using the girl's story to, quote, "further a pro-abortion narrative¹⁷."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TODD ROKITA: That's the problem here, one of the many problems. The last thing you call a person like that, who does that to a 10-year-old to further her ideology¹⁸ - the last thing you call her is a victim.

MCCAMMON: Now, Dr. Bernard's attorney, in response to some of these statements, had sent him a cease-and-desist letter earlier this month, and last week sent a more formal notice as a first step toward a possible defamation¹⁹ lawsuit²⁰. And in a statement to NPR yesterday, Rokita called that letter, quote, "an attempt to intimidate²¹ and obstruct²² his work." Here's how Bernard responded when I asked her about that.

BERNARD: One of us is the state attorney general. And one of us is a physician. And it's very clear who is being intimidated²³ in this situation. I will continue to provide access to safe, legal care to the best of my ability. And I can't say what he will do.

MCCAMMON: She says her goal in all of this is to make sure doctors can feel safe providing care to patients in accordance with the law.

FADEL: Now, Indiana law currently allows abortion up to about halfway²⁴ through a pregnancy. But that could change. Lawmakers are meeting this week to discuss a proposal to ban most abortions. Where does that effort stand? And what would it mean for doctors like Caitlin Bernard?

MCCAMMON: Right. That bill would have narrow exceptions for rape and incest and to save a pregnant woman's life. It is advancing in the Indiana legislature. The state senate is expected to debate it this week. Dr. Bernard says even those exceptions would put patients in danger.

BERNARD: Medicine is not a list of exceptions. I cannot try to fit every single situation into a law. It's going to be very dangerous. We're going to see people who are forced to continue unsafe pregnancies, who are going to die because of those pregnancies. We're going to see young women forced to leave their home, travel far away for the care that they need.

MCCAMMON: And I should mention, West Virginia is also having a special session this week where they're considering the issue of abortion.

FADEL: NPR national correspondent Sarah McCammon. Thank you, Sarah.

MCCAMMON: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUILTY GHOSTS' "EKTACHROME/ECTOPLASM")

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 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。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

5 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

6 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

7 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

8 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。

9 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

10 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。

11 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。

12 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

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 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

15 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

16 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

17 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

18 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

19 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

20 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

21 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

22 obstruct   

v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物

参考例句：

• He became still more dissatisfied with it and secretly did everything in his power to obstruct it.他对此更不满意，尽在暗里使绊子。
• The fallen trees obstruct the road.倒下的树将路堵住了。

23 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。