美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Texas man sues ex-wife's friends for allegedly helping her get abortion pills

A Texas man sues ex-wife's friends for allegedly helping¹ her get abortion² pills

Transcript³

A civil lawsuit⁴ against three Texans accused of helping a woman get abortion pills may lay the groundwork for prosecutors⁵ to seek criminal charges in such cases.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Three women in Texas are being sued for more than $1 million each for allegedly helping another woman get abortion pills to end her pregnancy⁶. The woman's ex-husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court in Galveston County. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, the case could lay the groundwork for prosecutors to bring criminal charges against people who help those seeking abortions⁷.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁸: In his lawsuit, Marcus A. Silva claims that last July, three women secretly helped his now ex-wife obtain pills to self-manage her abortion. One of Silva's attorneys, Peter Breen, says it's believed to be the first such case since last summer's Supreme⁹ Court decision overturning Roe¹⁰ v. Wade¹¹.

PETER BREEN: What we're establishing here is that individuals and, apparently¹², entities¹³ assisted in the unjust killing¹⁴, unlawful killing of an unborn child. And so the father of that child, who had his child taken from him and never got to know that child, has a legal right to recover for the damages suffered in that act.

MCCAMMON: Silva's then-wife already had filed for divorce at the time of the abortion. According to the lawsuit, she and two of the defendants¹⁵ exchanged text messages in which she said she feared Silva would pressure her to stay with him if he learned about the pregnancy. In addition to monetary¹⁶ damages, the civil lawsuit seeks an injunction blocking the defendants from helping with abortions in the future. Breen says it may expand to include pill manufacturers, pharmacies¹⁷ and groups that help people seeking abortions. Breen, who's with the conservative Catholic legal group the Thomas More Society, says he believes the case also should send a message to criminal prosecutors.

BREEN: In terms of the criminal system, certainly there - you know, we're citing the murder law of the state of Texas. And so there are - obviously, you know, there are going to be other issues that arise that local prosecutors are going to need to be asked about.

MCCAMMON: Silva's lead attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, is known for helping craft the Texas abortion law known as SB 8, which allows private citizens to file civil suits against anyone who facilitates an illegal abortion in the state. This case pushes that idea further from civil court, potentially to criminal court by pointing to murder and wrongful death laws. Farah Diaz-Tello is senior counsel with the reproductive rights legal group If/When/How.

FARAH DIAZ-TELLO: I think what they're trying to do here is lay out a playbook for prosecutors. And that seems fairly transparent¹⁸ on the face of the papers, that they want to lay out the strategy that they want to see prosecutors using in going after not only people who support others in having abortions, but against people who have abortions themselves.

MCCAMMON: Silva says in the filing that he's not targeting his ex-wife. Abortion laws in Texas and many other states exempt¹⁹ people from prosecution²⁰ for terminating their own pregnancies²¹. And Cynthia Soohoo, a law professor at the City University of New York, also sees the case as part of a larger strategy by some anti-abortion groups to treat fetuses²² as full persons under the law.

CYNTHIA SOOHOO: That's a dangerous conceptual move - right? - because I think it's one thing for the legislature to say we think that abortion is wrong and we think abortion should be criminalized. But I think it's a huge leap to sort of say that general laws, murder laws and wrongful death statutes²³ should be applied²⁴ to abortion.

MCCAMMON: Whatever the outcome of this civil case, NYU Law professor Melissa Murray says it's likely to intimidate²⁵ people seeking abortions or helping them in Texas and beyond.

MELISSA MURRAY: This lawsuit is a shot across the bow that whatever you do, we can identify you. And we can sue you. And we can possibly convince the state to not just deal with you civilly, but perhaps criminally as well.

MCCAMMON: The lawsuit also comes at a time when abortion drugs may soon become harder to get. A federal judge in Texas is expected to decide soon whether to curb²⁶ access to a common abortion pill. If that happens, it would drive access to abortion even further underground.

Sarah McCammon, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAKI KING AND CHLOE ALEXANDRA THOMPSON'S "DEFAULT SHELL")

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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 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 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。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 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。

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 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。

10 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？

11 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。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

17 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

18 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

19 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

20 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

21 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。

22 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

23 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

24 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

25 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。

26 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。