2006年VOA标准英语-US Supreme Court to Revisit Abortion Issue

By Jim Malone
WAshington
22 February 2006

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court will revisit the politically divisive issue of abortion² later this year. The abortion case in question will be a major test for a court that now includes two appointees of President Bush, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

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US Supreme Court, depicted³ in artist's rendering⁴ in Washington,  February 21, 2006   
  

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a law passed by Congress in 2003 that prohibits a procedure that opponents refer to as partial birth abortion.

It is a procedure in which the fetus⁵ is partially⁶ removed from the womb and its skull⁷ collapsed⁸.

The federal law in question allows the procedure if a mother's life is at risk. But the law does not allow an exception to preserve a woman's health. Abortion opponents see that as a loophole that would allow women to demand an abortion for a variety of reasons.

Oral arguments before the court will be held in October at the earliest. But abortion opponents are already expecting a ruling in their favor because of the two new members on the high court appointed by President Bush, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

Longtime anti-abortion activist⁹ Randall Terry says a court decision to uphold the ban on partial birth abortions¹⁰ could begin the process of reversing the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion known as Roe¹¹ v. Wade¹².

"I am confident that we will win this time around," he said. "I am also confident that this is part of chipping away at Roe versus¹³ Wade."

Abortion rights groups argue that upholding the ban on partial birth abortions without an exception for the health of the mother could be used to prohibit a number of abortion procedures and amounts to an erosion of a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion or not.

"It has been a very long commitment of the court to the constitutional proposition that women cannot have their health put at risk when having an abortion," said Nancy Northup, who heads an abortion rights group called the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Legal analysts¹⁴ say the partial birth abortion ban is the most significant abortion case before the Supreme Court in years. They also say the eventual¹⁵ ruling on the case will say a lot about the new direction on the high court, given the Roberts and Alito appointments.

"Well, the United States Supreme Court has become increasingly important over the years," said Jonathan Turley, a legal scholar at George Washington University. "There are a host of doctrines¹⁶ that currently are held by a single vote. It is up to the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution, but also to interpret federal statutes¹⁷."

The last time the high court dealt with this issue was in 2000 when the court decided¹⁸ by a vote of five to four that a partial birth abortion ban must include a health exception for the mother.
 

Samuel Alito (File photo)   
  
The deciding vote was cast by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has now retired¹⁹ and been replaced by Justice Alito.

Public opinion analysts note that abortion remains²⁰ one of the most divisive cultural and political issues in the United States.

"Abortion is probably the largest battle in the nation's culture war. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that 62 percent of Americans felt that Supreme Court decisions on abortion are important to them personally," added David Masci of the Pew Forum²¹ on Religion and Public Life, a non-partisan research organization in Washington.

A poll last year by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut found that three-quarters of those surveyed supported a ban on partial birth abortions except when the life of the mother was at stake.

A Supreme Court ruling is expected either late this year or early in 2007. In the meantime, the law in question has been blocked from taking effect by lower federal courts.

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 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

4 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 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。

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 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？

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

16 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

18 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。

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 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。

21 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。