VOA标准英语2013--40 Years Later, US Abortion Opinions Remain Passionate

 

40 Years Later, US Abortion¹ Opinions Remain Passionate²

To Jody Duffy, abortion is personal. As a young army officer, she was date raped³. She had an abortion. 

Now, 30 years later, she carries a sign that reads: "I regret my abortion." 

"I will never judge somebody and won't put my finger in someone's face. I just want people to be aware of the fact that you cannot walk into an abortion clinic one day and think that you're going to walk out and be the same person as when you walked in," she said.

Duffy is on one side of the passionate debate. Yasemin Ayarci is on the other.

"What we want to do is lower the rates of abortions⁴. We want to join them in that fight. But we want to do it through more rational means with sex education and birth control access," said Ayarci.

This is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme⁵ Court decision that legalized abortion - known as Roe⁶ vs. Wade⁷. Each year, tens of thousands make a "right to life" march to the high court.

Young Americans, like Kristan Hawkins, were born after the landmark⁸ decision.

“This generation, my generation, those of us who survived legal abortion, we’re a pro-life generation,” said Hawkins.

But the pro-life arguments run counter to a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal survey that shows 70 percent of Americans do not want the right to abortion overturned.

Father Frank Pavone leads the anti-abortion group Priests for Life.

“We have very powerful forces in America to shape public opinion and defend the abortion industry - Planned Parenthood, for example - very well-funded organizations, much of the funding coming from the government itself, that have created public perception that this is a responsible activity,” he said.

Marcia Greenberger is an attorney specializing in women's law. She said the issue is political.

“Nothing is ever secure forever, and because a determined⁹ minority and pretty quiet complacent¹⁰ majority, there have been people put on our federal courts who are bound and determined to limit, or even overturn, Roe v. Wade," said Greenberger.

Some of those judges are here at the Supreme Court. But there is no immediate¹¹ plan to review Roe vs. Wade. 

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 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 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

4 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

5 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。

6 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？

7 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。

8 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。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。