美国国家公共电台 NPR Abortion In The Third Trimester: A Rare Decision Often Made In Tragic Circumstances

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

States across the country, including Ohio, Georgia and Mississippi, have recently pushed for bans on early abortions². It's part of an effort to challenge Roe³ v. Wade⁴ and to build support before the 2020 elections. But there's also a debate on the other end of the spectrum⁵ over very late abortions. Third-trimester abortions are rare and controversial. Women who seek them often are facing a devastating⁶ diagnosis⁷ or a personal crisis. But the issue has been coming up in state legislatures in Congress and in the presidential campaign. Here's NPR's Sarah McCammon.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁸: These days, Dana Weinstein is the mother of three active children, a boy and two girls, who shower her with love as they burst through the door after school.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: Mommy, I missed you.

DANA WEINSTEIN: Hi, baby. Come on. Hi, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Mommy.

MCCAMMON: But Weinstein's path to this happy, healthy family has been difficult. Almost a decade ago, she and her husband found out they were expecting their second child, news that filled her with so much joy she documented her pregnancy⁹ in a journal written to her future baby.

WEINSTEIN: You moved. It's the first time I felt you move, and it was during a service Mommy was at that played music. I think you have a thing for live music. It was so great to feel you kick and move around.

MCCAMMON: Weinstein is now 48, living in the Washington, D.C., suburbs and working for a nonprofit. She still tears up when she talks about the diagnosis she received about 31 weeks into that pregnancy - that a critical piece of the brain had not developed properly. The prognosis was heartbreaking.

WEINSTEIN: That our baby would have seizures¹⁰ 70 percent of the time - that was a best-case scenario¹¹ - that when we delivered her, that we would need to have a resuscitation¹² order in place because she would most likely seize to death.

MCCAMMON: Fearing a short and painful life for her baby, Weinstein and her husband chose to travel to Colorado to end the pregnancy at one of the few clinics in the country that offers third-trimester abortions. She's been speaking publicly about her experience for years. But recently, decisions like hers have become the focus of national debate.

(SOUNDBITE OF 2019 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP¹³: Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight.

MCCAMMON: Earlier this year, during the State of the Union address, President Trump weighed in on the issue of later abortion¹, condemning¹⁴ a law passed in New York that removed some restrictions¹⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF 2019 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS)

TRUMP: These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and their dreams with the world.

MCCAMMON: With two of Trump's nominees¹⁶ now on the U.S. Supreme¹⁷ Court, anti-abortion rights activists¹⁸ are hoping the court will roll back or overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. In several states, they've pushed through legislation banning the procedure as early as six weeks, hoping one of those bills will find its way to the Supreme Court.

In more liberal states - among them, Vermont, Massachusetts and Illinois - lawmakers have tried to push in the other direction, working to enshrine abortion rights in state law. A failed proposal in Virginia to remove some restrictions on later abortion sparked heated rhetoric¹⁹ earlier this year, including claims that supporters were condoning²⁰ infanticide. Mallory Quigley is with the anti-abortion group the Susan B. Anthony List.

MALLORY QUIGLEY: What we're seeing in some states is a complete overreach on the part of the abortion lobby.

MCCAMMON: Abortion rights opponents are also promoting legislation at the federal level to restrict abortion later in pregnancy. They point to polling that suggests that while a majority of Americans support access to the procedure earlier, most oppose it by the third trimester. Quigley says she believes it's a winning political issue for Republicans who oppose abortion rights.

QUIGLEY: I think that the increased clarity that these types of debates are providing are going to help President Trump and pro-life senators, representatives, people on the ballot²¹ in 2020.

MCCAMMON: The issue already is popping up in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Former Texas congressman²² Beto O'Rourke was asked for his views on third-trimester abortions during a campaign stop in Ohio in March. And here's Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders responding to a question during a recent Fox News town hall.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARTHA MACCALLUM: With regard to abortion, do you believe that a woman should be able to terminate a pregnancy up until the moment of birth?

BERNIE SANDERS: Look, I think that that happens very, very rarely. And I think this is being made into a political issue.

MCCAMMON: Both Sanders and O'Rourke ultimately said they believe such decisions should be made by women and their doctors. However polarizing third-trimester abortions may be politically, as a medical procedure, they're very rare. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, a little over 1 percent occur sometime after 21 weeks, which is still well within the second trimester. Jen Villavicencio is an OB-GYN and fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She says a woman seeking an abortion in her final trimester has very few options.

JEN VILLAVICENCIO: She can't just show up at any clinic and decide to get an abortion. She's moving through tons and tons of barriers and hoops²³ to be able to do this.

MCCAMMON: That was true for Beth Vial, a college student from Portland, Ore., who didn't learn she was pregnant until she was about 26 weeks along in the summer of 2017. Vial has some health issues that can make it hard to conceive and make a pregnancy harder to diagnose.

BETH VIAL: I just burst out crying. I didn't believe them because I was told that that wasn't a possibility for me.

MCCAMMON: Vial was just 22. She'd recently ended her relationship and says she knew she didn't want to be pregnant. Vial couldn't find a doctor who'd perform her abortion at that stage in Portland. But she was referred to a clinic in New Mexico that would do the procedure up until 28 weeks at a cost of more than $10,000. So Vial scrambled²⁴ with the help of family and friends and a nonprofit group to get the money together.

VIAL: There was a lot of emotions I - because there's a lot of people telling me how they felt about my situation without me asking. I mean, you tell someone that you're seven months pregnant and having an abortion, they've got some things to say. People I thought were my friends made it clear to me that they disapproved²⁵. And that - I - that's fine. It wasn't changing my mind.

MCCAMMON: For Dana Weinstein, who ended her pregnancy in the third trimester because of a severe fetal diagnosis, the emotional public debate around the issue is sometimes difficult to hear.

WEINSTEIN: I would have given anything to have been able to help our baby live if she could have lived, but she was going to be incapable²⁶ of that. I just don't understand why and how this is so front and center in the national debate.

MCCAMMON: It's a debate that's likely to continue in the coming months in the midst of new battles over who should be allowed to have an abortion and when. Sarah McCammon, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DYLAN AYCOCK'S "RED OAK BLACK")

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 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

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 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。

5 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

6 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

7 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

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 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。

10 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

11 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

12 resuscitation   

n.复活

参考例句：

• Despite attempts at resuscitation,Mr Lynch died a week later in hospital.虽经全力抢救，但林奇先生一周以后还是在医院去世了。
• We gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage.我们对他进行了口对口复苏救治和心脏按摩。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 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

16 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

17 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。

18 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》

19 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

20 condoning   

v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I'm not condoning what he did, all right? 我并不是宽恕他的所作所为，好吗？ 来自电影对白
• Communist Party conservatives abhor the idea of condoning explicIt'sex. 党内的保守势力痛恨对赤裸性爱内容的宽容。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

23 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

24 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。