今天的句子:
The essence of the supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman’s right to an abortion, was to balance a pregnant woman’s constitutional right to privacy with the hypothetical rights of a fetus that at some point might be considered a person, even while inside the womb. The Court’s compromise was to confer those hypothetical rights on a fetus when it reaches the 28th week of pregnancy. That threshold wasn’t arbitrary; it was based on the state of medical science at the time.
思考题:
The Roe v. Wade decision________. A. has outlawed abortion in the U.S. B. fails to recognize rights of a fetus C. supported woman’s privacy right D. was not based on modern science
词汇突破:
abortion:堕胎
constitutional right:宪法权力
privacy:隐私
hypothetical rights:假定权力
fetus:胎儿
womb:子宫
compromise:妥协
threshold:门槛,标准
arbitrary:随意的
句子解析:
第一句:
The essence of the supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman’s right to an abortion, was to balance a pregnant woman’s constitutional right to privacy with the hypothetical rights of a fetus // that at some point might be considered a person, even while inside the womb.
参考译文:最高法院1973年的“罗诉韦德案”裁决确立了妇女的堕胎权,其实质是平衡宪法支持的孕妇隐私权与胎儿在某个时刻——甚至在子宫内时——可能被视为个人的假定权利。
第二句:
The Court’s compromise was to confer those hypothetical rights on a fetus when it reaches the 28th week of pregnancy.
参考译文:法院达成的妥协是在孕28周时赋予胎儿这些假定权利。
第三句:
That threshold wasn’t arbitrary; it was based on the state of medical science at the time.
参考译文:这个标准并不是任意的,而是基于当时的医学水平。
思考题解析:C选项我改了一下,原来的C也对。
The Roe v. Wade decision________.
罗诉韦德案的决定______.
A. has outlawed abortion in the U.S.
(令在美国堕胎成为非法)
没有提及
A选项错误。
B. fails to recognize rights of a fetus
(不承认胎儿的权利)
不是不承认,只是定了28周后才有权利。
B选项错误。
C. strikes the balance between rights
(维持权力的平衡)
原文这样说道:
其实质是平衡宪法支持的孕妇隐私权与胎儿在某个时刻——甚至在子宫内时——可能被视为个人的假定权利。
你应该不知道strikes the balance 是:保持平衡和取得平衡的意思。
C选项正确。
D. was not based on modern science
(不以现代科学为基础)
以当时的现代科学为基础。
D选项错误。
文章来源背景和来源:
What Science Says About Abortion
科学关于堕胎的说法
Source: https://www.newsweek.com/2022/06/24/abortion-science-post-roe-america-1713665.html
背景:美国关于推翻“罗诉韦德案”判例引起的争议在于,裁决的权力将回归到各州,一些传统上趋向保守的州可能会将允许妇女进行堕胎手术的周数定得非常小。例如,密西西比州规定堕胎15周以上的胎儿是违法的,而在德克萨斯州,这一数字是6周。在1973 年,医生和助产士有时能救活28周的早产儿,但没有更早出生的活婴,因而“罗诉韦德案”判例确定的婴儿享有独立生命权的时间为28周。随着医学的进步,诸如促肺针的应用,目前医学界普遍认为独立在母亲体外生存的最早时限已经可以到22周。但是,科学本身不有回答和堕胎有关的所有道德和政治问题,也无法弥合美国分裂的政治。科学阐明了一些重要问题,却也加深了另一些问题的不确定性。尽管我们现在比50年前更了解胎儿的宫外生存能力,但要厘清医学认知、生命权和道德争议,仍然是一个模糊的、有争议的、且常常令人沮丧的探索。