美国国家公共电台 NPR--Abortion providers wait for the Supreme Court to weigh in on mifepristone

Abortion¹ providers wait for the Supreme² Court to weigh in on mifepristone

Transcript³

The Supreme Court will weigh in on whether doctors can still provide patients with mifepristone across the country. Abortion providers share how they're navigating⁴ this uncertainty⁵ with patients.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Justice Department says it will take its fight to protect access to abortion pills all the way to the Supreme Court.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The newest request - that the widely used abortion pill mifepristone remain available while a lawsuit⁶ makes its way through the courts. So what does this fast-moving case mean for doctors who provide abortions⁷?

KRISTYN BRANDI: Generally, it's just been chaos⁸, frankly⁹.

FADEL: Dr. Kristyn Brandi is an OB-GYN in New Jersey¹⁰. She says the legal battles are complicating¹¹ the kind of medical care she can provide.

MARTIN: NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin is here with us once again to tell us more.

Good morning, Selena.

SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE¹²: Good morning, Michel.

MARTIN: So reminder¹³ - just a quick reminder for those who may not have been following this. There are two competing decisions in different parts of the country right now that concern this abortion pill, mifepristone.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Yeah, exactly. So this is one medication that's used to stop a pregnancy¹⁴ either for abortion or treatment of miscarriage¹⁵. It's used in combination with another drug. And mifepristone has become the center of cases going through the federal courts right now. It's quite likely that the Supreme Court will weigh in soon. And in the meantime, doctors who provide abortions still have patients to see. They told me they're confused. They're angry. They're frustrated¹⁶. Here's more of what Dr. Kristyn Brandi said.

BRANDI: Every couple of minutes, I'm getting a call from a friend of mine from across the country that's an abortion provider trying to figure out if they can provide care. Offices are getting calls from patients asking if they can still get their medication abortion that they have scheduled. So it's just been mayhem.

MARTIN: But I understand that access to mifepristone may change in some places, in some ways as soon as tomorrow. So how are doctors figuring out what they're supposed to do or what they're allowed to do?

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Yeah. I mean, a lot of lawyers are trying to make educated guesses here about how to advise clinics, but it kind of comes down to how much risk you as a doctor are willing to take. Are you comfortable still giving out pills you have in stock? Are you comfortable prescribing a medication based on your understanding of the evidence of the safety and efficacy? My colleague Sarah McCammon spoke¹⁷ to Dr. Colleen McNicholas at Planned Parenthood in Illinois, who said because of the supportive officials in her state, they're going to keep providing mifepristone.

COLLEEN MCNICHOLAS: And so for us, nothing changes tomorrow. We are going to continue to provide medication abortion in the way that we were a week ago.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Certainly other providers in less friendly states are making a different calculus¹⁸. They're going to stop giving out mifepristone based on their reading of how the latest court rulings apply to them.

MARTIN: Now, this seems to be a lot to keep track of for patients and for doctors, and I'm thinking particularly for patients who are already in an emotional and stressful situation.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Absolutely. But, you know, the OB-GYNs I talked with yesterday made the point that abortion providers are used to navigating restrictions¹⁹. Here's Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OB-GYN here in Washington, D.C.

JAMILA PERRITT: Every morning we wake up and there's a new assault - new rules, new mandates²⁰, new restrictions, new demands - all, though, in line with the same intention to eliminate abortion access.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Now, one thing to note is abortion procedures aren't affected²¹ by any of these cases. They are still available in states where abortion is legal, and even medication abortion is available too, just possibly not with this drug at the center of this legal fight.

MARTIN: And finally, last night, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that bans most abortions in Florida. Tell us more about this law.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Well, it's a six-week ban, but it doesn't go into effect right away. It's set to go into effect 30 days after the state Supreme Court decides a case challenging its current abortion law. It would have huge implications if it did take effect for abortion access in the South. But for now, nothing changes.

MARTIN: That is NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin.

Selena, thank you so much.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Thank you.

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 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。

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 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 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。

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 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

12 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。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 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。

15 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

16 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

18 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

19 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

20 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。