2006年VOA标准英语-US Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Cases

By Jim Malone
06 November 2006

Supreme1 Court, Washington DC" src="/upimg/allimg/070508/1036170.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> US Supreme Court, Washington DC

The U.S. Supreme Court takes up the divisive issue of abortion² Wednesday in a legal challenge that is being closely watched by abortion rights supporters and opponents.

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At issue are two cases that challenge abortion restrictions³ passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2003.

The law in question bans a procedure that opponents call "partial birth abortion." Abortion rights supporters prefer the medical term, intact dilation⁴ and extraction.

The procedure involves collapsing⁵ the skull⁶ of the fetus⁷, so that it can be removed intact through the mother's birth canal.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases challenging the constitutionality of the ban on the procedure. Abortion rights supporters say the law should be struck down because Congress did not include an exception to the ban for instances when a woman's health might be in jeopardy⁸, if she were denied access to the procedure.

"Those women deserve our respect and our support, not some paternalistic attempt by the church or the state to intrude⁹ ourselves into these most personal, intimate decisions," said the Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest and an abortion rights advocate.

Opponents of the procedure want the high court to uphold the congressional ban on what they call partial birth abortions¹⁰.

"What everybody sees, because of the nature of this procedure, is a frail¹¹, small, human body, nearly completely delivered of the mother, stabbed, the contents of its head emptied and died in front of everybody," said Helen Alvare, a law professor at Catholic University in Washington.

Supporters of the ban on so-called partial birth abortions say the law already includes an exception when the life of the mother is in danger. The law passed by Congress includes an assertion that partial birth abortion is never medically necessary to protect the health of the mother.

"Women need advice to respect their bodies and demand that men do the same. They need really not to get pregnant, without a marital¹² situation that can support that child in the long run, and themselves. They need to be able to see children as the gift they are," said Alvare.

Several lower federal courts struck down the partial birth abortion ban citing the law's lack of an exception for the health of the mother. One federal appeals court ruled that the law was too vague, and might be used to ban other abortion procedures now legal.

Abortion rights supporters see this case as a crucial test for a Supreme Court that includes two new members appointed by President Bush, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Alito replaced retired¹³ Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had long been a reliable supporter of abortion rights on the high court.

"The Supreme Court, in this case, should send a clear message to the Congress that settled law [previously decided¹⁴ cases] - and particularly settled law for 30 years going back to Roe¹⁵ [Roe Versus¹⁶ Wade¹⁷ decision legalizing abortion] that established a bright line rule that pregnant women's health may not be subordinated to opposition¹⁸ to abortion - that should be affirmed," said Nancy Northup, who heads the Center for Reproductive Rights, a leading abortion rights advocacy group.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that a woman has a constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy¹⁹ in the landmark²⁰ case known as Roe versus Wade. But, since then, the court has expanded the authority of the individual states to regulate abortion, as long as they did not, in the words of the high court, pose an undue²¹ burden on a woman's right to an abortion.

The high court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the partial birth abortion ban early next year.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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

4 dilation   

n.膨胀，扩张，扩大

参考例句：

• Time dilation works both ways. 时间膨胀在两方面都起作用。 来自辞典例句
• The ciliary body is an anterior dilation of the choroid at the level of the lens. 晶状体是脉络膜石晶状体平面上向前扩大的部分。 来自辞典例句

5 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

6 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。

7 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。

8 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

9 intrude   

vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰

参考例句：

• I do not want to intrude if you are busy.如果你忙我就不打扰你了。
• I don't want to intrude on your meeting.我不想打扰你们的会议。

10 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

11 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

12 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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？

16 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。

17 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。

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 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。

20 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。

21 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。