相信大家都知道几天之前美国发生了一件大事儿, 这件事情不仅让英文的媒体炸开了锅, 在中文的媒体和社交平台上也受到了广泛的关注。

而这条新闻有一个核心的概念, 也就是我们今天的Buzzword, 那就是Roe v. Wade.

中文的翻译比较拗口, 叫做“罗诉韦德案”.

So in today's Buzzword, we're gonna get into the basics of Roe v. Wade and why it is such a big deal？

The actual Roe v. Wade is a legal case.

这种 X v. Y 的表达一般作为某一个诉讼的简称, 就是 “X 诉 Y”, 这也是为什么在中文里我们把它翻译成 “罗诉韦德案”。

Who is Roe and who is Wade？

在1969年, 美国德州有一位叫Norma McCorvey的二十几岁的女性, 她意外怀孕了, 然后想要堕胎。

她的经济条件很差, 之前生过两个孩子都因为无力抚养, 只能把孩子送给别人领养。

她所住的德克萨斯州对于堕胎的法律是: 除非危及生命, 堕胎一律不合法。

（当时德州对于堕胎的法律是: 除非是危及到孕妇生命的情况, 不然堕胎一律不合法。）

For this we need to go back in time.

In 1969, Norma McCorvey, a Texas woman in her early 20s, sought to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

McCorvey, who had grown up in difficult, impoverished circumstances, previously had given birth twice and given up both children for adoption.

At the time of McCorvey’s pregnancy in 1969, abortion was legal in Texas, but only for the purpose of saving a woman's life.

So in that kind of situations, American women with the money, they could get abortion by traveling to other countries or pay a large fee to a US doctor willing to secretly perform an abortion.

这个时候就有人给她介绍了两位律师愿意帮她打这个官司, 针对德州反堕胎的法律提出质疑。

在法庭的记录里, 给McCorvey的化名就是Jane Roe, 这就是“罗诉韦德”里的“罗”.

所以1970年这两位律师就提起诉讼状告当时McCorvey所居住的德州达拉斯的地区检察官Henry Wade, 认为德州禁止堕胎的法律, 侵犯到了美国宪法赋予McCorvey的隐私权.

这里的Henry Wade也就是“罗素韦德案”里的“韦德”。

Jane Roe (化名)

So after trying unsuccessfully to get an illegal abortion, McCorvey was referred to Texas attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, who were interested in challenging anti-abortion laws.

In 1970, the attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of McCorvey against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County where McCorvey lived.

The case eventually reached the US Supreme Court, and Supreme Court made a ruling in a 7-2 decision, struck down the Texas law banning abortion.

这个诉讼案最终是到达了美国的联邦最高法院. 在1973年联邦高院的9位大法官以7:2的多数裁定判定McCorvey, 也就是“罗”胜诉。

三个孕期

Three Trimesters

”

To be more specific, the court divided pregnancy into three trimesters.

And declared that the choice to end a pregnancy in the first trimester was solely up to the woman.

In the second trimester, the government would regulate abortion, although not ban it, in order to protect the mother’s health.

In the third trimester, the state could prohibit abortion to protect a fetus that could survive on its own outside the womb, except when a woman’s health was in danger.

更具体的来讲, 法院裁定把整个的妊娠期分成三个孕期, 每个孕期大概三个月;

前三个月, 也就是第一个孕期, 完全由怀孕的女性自身决定是否进行人工流产;

第二个孕期为了保护孕妇本人的健康. 政府可以对堕胎进行一定的管控, 但是也不会完全禁止；

到了第三个孕期, 由于这个时候的胎儿如果脱离母体, 已经可以独立存活，为了保证他们的生命权, 政府才会禁止堕胎，除非有特殊情况证明, 如果不终止妊娠会危及到孕妇的生命。

So that was the legacy of Roe v. Wade.

Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life？

Ever since Roe v. Wade came out, many states imposed restrictions that weaken abortion rights, and Americans remain divided over support for a woman’s right to choose an abortion.

简单来讲,

Pro-Choice选择权至上:

认为每个人在不干涉他人的前提下, 对于自己的生殖系统有无限的自主权;

也就是说在胎儿有脱离母体的生存能力之前, 政府没有权利干涉女性终止妊娠的选择。

Pro-Life生命权至上:

认为政府有义务和责任保护全人类的生命, 包括胎儿;

不应该因为意图、生存能力、生活质量等方面的考虑而区别对待, 因此要对堕胎进行限制。

US Supreme Court overturn Roe

And then fast forward to last week, the explosive news was the US Supreme Court deliberated on a case, and in its decision, it ruled 6-3 to overturn Roe after its nearly 50 years as precedent.

再说回到上周的爆炸性新闻, 其实也就是上周五美国最高法院作出裁决, 9个大法官6:3的票数, 推翻了半个世纪前有关女性堕胎合宪权的Roe v. Wade, “罗诉韦德案”的裁定。

To put it in simple terms, basically, the Supreme Court is saying abortion right is not a constitutional right.

To make it clear, this is not to say the Supreme Court is banning abortion.

But what it does mean is that the federal government is giving this right to each state.

Now it's up to each state to decide whether abortion should be legal or not.

After this little background intro, perhaps you'll understand why this piece of news was so controversial and explosive.

简单来说就是裁定堕胎并非宪法赋予的权利。

虽然美国最高法院的这个决定并不是直接说堕胎行为就是违法的, 而是认为它并不是宪法赋予的权利, 这就表示以后美国的每个州都可以自行裁决堕胎是否合法;

而这一决定的直接结果就是可能导致堕胎行为在美国很多个州都会变成违法行为。

也许现在，你能明白为什么这条新闻会引起如此大的争议了吧。

例句示范

Example 1：

-According to a poll before the Supreme Court ruling, majority of Americans didn’t want Roe v. Wade overturned.