听力课堂TED音频栏目主要包括TED演讲的音频MP3及中英双语文稿，供各位英语爱好者学习使用。本文主要内容为演讲MP3+双语文稿:女性实现堕胎自由之路，在何方？，希望你会喜欢！

【主讲人】Kathryn Kolbert
Kathryn Kolbert是生殖权利中心的创始人。她致力于确保所有人，无论他们住在哪里，无论他们的生活环境，无论他们的年龄、种族或LGBTQIA+身份，都有能力选择是否为人父母，并获得安全、合法的堕胎。

【演讲主题】The end of Roe v. Wade - and what comes next for reproductive freedom
生育权律师Kathryn Kolbert表示，1973年美国最高法院保护人们堕胎权利的里程碑式的“罗伊诉韦德案”将在一年内被推翻。
演讲人打破了对美国生殖自由的系统性攻击，并设想了推翻“罗伊诉韦德案”之后的世界会是什么样子。

【中英文稿】
"What's the Supreme Court going to do about abortion?"
“最高法院打算针对堕胎做些什么？”

“They’re not really going to overturn Roe v. Wade, are they?”
“他们不会真的推翻罗伊诉韦德案 （Roe v. Wade）吧，对吗？”

"They can't do that, can they?"
“他们不能这么做，对吗？”

I can't tell you how many people have asked me questions like this in recent months. It makes sense. I have argued two abortion cases in the US Supreme Court, including the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which is credited with saving Roe v. Wade. I was a co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and I spent 20 years of my career arguing on behalf of women who needed abortions and other reproductive health care.
我无法告诉你们，在最近几个月里， 有多少人问过我这样的问题。 可以理解。 我曾经在美国最高法院 为两起堕胎案辩护， 包括1992年计划生育组织诉 凯西案 (Planned Parenthood v. Casey)， 这个案例要归功于罗诉韦德案。 我是生殖权利中心的联合创始人， 在我的职业生涯中，用了20年 为需要堕胎 和其他生殖健康保障的女性发声。

So my answer is depressing but direct: Roe v. Wade will be dead within the year. The constitutional right to choose whether or not to have an abortion will no longer be protected by the United States Constitution. This court is likely to overrule Roe and Casey or so undermine its meaning that it will be effectively unavailable for use.
所以，我的回答令人沮丧但是直接， 罗伊诉韦德案可能在今年内成为历史。 宪法赋予堕胎的选择权 将不再被美国宪法保护。 法院会推翻罗伊和凯西的案例 或者破坏它的意义， 使得它不能有效地使用。

Now I heard your gasps, I'm going to say it again. The Federal Constitution of the United States will no longer protect reproductive freedom.
现在我听到你们的叹息。 我要再说一遍， 美国的联邦宪法 将不再保护生殖自由。

Now I'm also here to tell you that there's hope. That we can preserve, by working together, our reproductive freedoms. And by that, I mean more than just the right to choose abortion. By that, I mean the ability to make decisions about becoming parents. All people should have that right. Whatever their race, whatever their gender, whoever they love, all people ought to have the right to decide to become parents and the social supports that are necessary to raise those children with dignity and in safety.
在这里我告诉你们 我们还有希望。 我们能通过共同的努力， 保护我们的生殖自由。 我的意思是说， 不仅仅是选择堕胎的自由， 是我们关于是否成为父母的决策能力。 每个人都应该有这个权利。 无论种族，无论性别， 无论他们爱谁， 所有的人都应该有权利 决定是否成为父母， 所有人都应该获得必要的社会支持 有尊严和安全地抚养孩子。

So opponents argue three things when they say they want to ban abortion. They talk about religion; they talk about protection of fetal rights; they talk about protection of women's health. So let's take those each in turn. Religion. You know, the reality of the world is that the world's religions have a wide variety of views on abortion, and many support them in a whole range of different circumstances. So when abortion opponents say religion, they're really just imposing their religion on the rest of us. And what about protection of fetal rights? If in fact you cared about protecting fetal rights, you'd spend a lot of time working to eliminate the alarming rate of infant mortality in this country.
所以当反对者说他们要禁止堕胎时， 他们争论三点， 他们说宗教； 他们说胎儿人权； 他们说保护女性健康。 我们来一个一个看。 先说宗教。 你知道，这个世界的真实情况是， 世界上的宗教对堕胎有各种各样的观点， 很多在各种不同的情况下支持堕胎。 所以，当堕胎的反对者说宗教的时候， 他们只是把他们的宗教 强加给我们其余的人。 那保护胎儿的权利呢？ 事实上如果你关心胎儿的权利， 你会花时间去努力消除 这个国家惊人的婴儿死亡率。

(Applause)
（掌声）

Because in the United States, we have one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the developed world. They also should be supporting programs for children once they are born.
因为在美国， 我们有着发达国家 最高的婴儿死亡率。 他们也应该在孩子出生后 就他们提供支持计划。

(Applause)
（掌声）

You know, what about the protection of women's health? Well, the reality is, abortion is already an extremely safe surgical procedure. It is safer than childbirth. And imposing new restrictions on abortion only makes it less safe.
那至于保护女性健康呢？ 事实是，堕胎已经是一个非常安全的手术。 比分娩健康。 给堕胎增加新的限制， 只会让它变得不安全。

In my view, what we're really talking about, this fixation on abortion by opponents, those people who want to ban abortion, is all about controlling women. And women are unable to operate, to be equal participants in our society, if we cannot control whether, when and with whom we have children. We cannot exercise the fundamental human right to make decisions about our bodies and our destinies.
在我看来，我们真正讨论的 那些堕胎反对者的执着， 那些想禁止堕胎的人， 都是关于控制女性。 如果我们不能控制何时和谁生孩子， 女性就无法主张， 成为这个社会平等的参与者。 我们不能行使最基本的人权， 决定我们的身体和命运。

So why am I so convinced that the Supreme Court is going to overrule Roe and Casey and take what is clearly a radical step? Now, interestingly enough, I learned everything I needed to know to be successful in the Supreme Court on “Sesame Street.”
那么，为什么我坚信， 最高法院将推翻罗伊和凯西案， 采取一个显然激进的步骤？ 有趣的是， 在“芝麻街” （Sesame Street） 我学到了我需要知道的 在高等法院获得成功的一切事情。

(Laughter)
（笑声）

Why? Because you've got to learn to count. And the only number that matters is five --
为什么？ 因为你必须学会数数。 而唯一重要的数字是“五”——

(Laughter)
（笑声）

which is a majority of the justices on the Court.
这代表法院里的多数法官 （最高法院一共九位法官）。

Now, when Casey went to the High Court in 1992, I was convinced that there were five justices then prepared to overrule Roe and return to the states the ability to ban abortion. I was correct. Right after my argument, the justices returned to their conference room and took a vote, and seven justices voted to uphold the Pennsylvania restrictions that were at issue in the case. And then Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote a draft opinion. While he never said the magic words, that Roe is fatal, as Justice John Paul Stevens recently wrote in his memoir, the opinion effectively repudiated the central holding of Roe. Now, luckily, that opinion was never filed in 1992. At the last minute, Justice Anthony Kennedy changed his mind, and together with justices Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter, they issued what they called a joint opinion. And in it, they upheld the right of women to obtain abortion up until viability, usually between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, in all 50 states and US territories.
当1992年凯西案上诉到最高法院， 我坚信有五位法官 准备推翻罗伊的案例， 退回给州法院禁止堕胎的。 我是对的。 在我辩护之后， 法官们回到他们的会议室投票， 七位法官投票支持宾夕法尼亚州的限制， 这是这个案件中的争议点。 然后主法官伦奎斯特 （Rehnquist） 写了一个意见草案。 他没有说任何魔力词汇， 像大法官约翰·保罗·史蒂文斯 （John Paul Stevens） 最近他在回忆录中， 写道的“罗伊案是胎儿” 这个意见驳回了对罗伊案的支持。 幸运地，这个意见没有被采纳。 在最后一刻，安东尼·肯尼迪 （Anthony Kennedy）大法官改变了主意， 和大法官桑德拉·戴·奥康纳 （Sandra Day O’Connor）， 以及大卫·苏特（David Souter） 发布了他们所谓的联合意见。 在这个意见里， 他们维护了妇女拥有堕胎的权利， 直至“可存活胎龄”， 通常指怀孕 22-24 周， 在所有 50 个州和美国领土上。

But the Casey decision went a little further, and it had permitted states to enact barriers to abortion as long as they weren't undue burdens on women. And as a result, in the following three decades, we’ve seen states pass hundreds of restrictions on abortion, and the increasingly conservative courts uphold those restrictions. And as a result, we've seen a dwindling availability of abortion. Today, about 11 percent of the counties in this country that actually have an abortion provider. There are six states that have one abortion provider. As we know, in the days before Roe, women with means were able to get abortions. Other women, on the other hand, even today -- low-income women, women who live in rural areas, teenagers, women of color, women who are disabled -- all of whom have difficulty accessing safe and affordable abortion.
但是凯西案的裁决不仅于此， 允许各州为堕胎设置障碍 只要他们不给女性过重的负担。 结果， 在接下来的三十年里， 我们看到各州通过了 数以百计的限制堕胎的法案， 以及越来越多的保守法院 对这些限制的支持。 同时，我们也看到日渐减少的堕胎可行性。 今天，只有大约 11% 的县 有提供堕胎服务的机构。 其中有六个州只有 一个提供堕胎服务的机构。 而我们知道，在罗伊的案例之前， 有条件的女性能够堕胎， 而其他的女性， 即使在今天， 低收入的女性、偏远地区的女性， 青少年、有色人种的女性、残疾女性， 所有这些人都很难 得到安全和负担得起的堕胎服务。

Now the question is: What’s going to happen now? And unfortunately, things are going to get worse. There are currently three cases pending in the Supreme Court, two from Texas and one from Mississippi. Now, most of you probably have been following the Texas situation. Texas passed a ban on abortion at about six weeks of pregnancy. It allowed any individual to sue abortion providers. Vigilantes could collect a bounty of 10,000 dollars for a violation of the law. And as a result, many, many clinics, probably most of the clinics in Texas, have closed their doors or have decreased the number of abortions they performed. It's difficult. But the critical piece about Texas is that five justices -- remember that number five -- five justices already voted to permit the Texas law to go into effect. And besides the harm for women, those justices are not really considering the constitutionality of the act, only who can be sued and where. The more important case is out of Mississippi. There, there's a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. Arguments were heard this week, and in my view, we are likely to see at least five justices overrule Roe and Casey and send the question of abortion back to the states. Sesame Street, five votes. And unfortunately, this time around, there is no Justice Kennedy to save us.
现在的问题是： 接下来会怎么样？ 不幸的是，事情会变得更糟。 目前共有三个案件在最高法院审理中， 两个来自德克萨斯， 一个来自密西西比， 你们中的很多人可能 有关注德克萨斯的情况， 德克萨斯通过了一项禁止 怀孕 6 周以上堕胎的法令， 这项法令允许任何个人 起诉堕胎服务机构， 义务警员可以从起诉这些违法行为中， 获得一万美元的奖金。 而实际上，很多很多的诊所， 可能是大多数的德克萨斯的诊所， 关上了他们的门 或者减少了 他们实施的堕胎手术的数量。 这是个艰难的状况。 而关于德克萨斯的关键部分 是五个大法官—— 记得那个数字“五”—— 五个大法官已经投票 允许德克萨斯法令生效。 除了对女性的伤害， 这些大法官并没有真正考虑 该法案的合宪性。 仅仅是谁会被起诉，在哪里起诉。 更重要的案件是在密西西比， 那里有一项针对 怀孕 15 周以上的堕胎禁令。 这周进行了听证会，我认为， 我们很可能会看到至少五个大法官 驳回罗伊和凯西案， 并把堕胎的问题的决策权推给各州。 芝麻街，五个投票。 不幸的是，这次， 再也没有肯尼迪（Kennedy）大法官 来拯救我们。

Now, what's going to happen when Roe and Casey are overturned? I'd guess that about half the states in this country will ban all or most abortions. We're likely to see ban stretching from Georgia all the way west to Texas, from Idaho, all the way south to Arizona. Women, like Texan women, will be forced to travel to the 15 states that are controlled by pro-choice legislators and governors. Other women will seek medication abortion, using the internet or gray or black markets and subject themselves in some states to criminal prosecutions. Still, other women will carry their unintended pregnancies to term. The bottom line is this is not a pretty picture.
那么，如果罗伊和凯西案例被驳回， 接下来将会怎么样？ 我猜这个国家将会有大概一半的州， 禁止所有的或者大多数堕胎手术。 我们可能会看到禁令从 乔治亚州一路向西延伸到德克萨斯州， 从爱达荷州一路向南到亚利桑那州。 女性，比如德克萨斯的女性， 需要被迫前往十五个 由支持“堕胎权”的立法者和州长控制的州。 其他一些女性 将会通过互联网或黑市， 寻求药物流产的方式， 而这在某些州会将自己置于刑事诉讼。 而还会有一些女性， 会继续他们意外怀孕到足月。 底线是，这当然不是一幅美妙的画面。

So what now? What can we do? We have been saying for five decades, "Save Roe, save Roe, save Roe." That strategy is no longer feasible. Give it up. We've got to make sure we quit hitting our heads against the marble staircase. And try to find new strategies. So I'm going to propose two of them to you today. First, we’ve got to build a badass social justice movement.
所以现在怎么办？ 我们能做什么？ 我们说了五十年， “拯救罗伊，拯救罗伊，拯救罗伊。” 这个策略不再有效。 放弃吧。 我们需要确定， 我们不再把我们的头 撞向大理石的台阶， 我们需要新的策略。 所以我今天将提出其中两个倡议。 首先，我们需要发起一场 “蛮横的”社会正义运动。

(Applause)
（掌声）

Which means loudly crying for our rights, loudly saying: this is something that belongs to us. We know from watching the Black Lives Matter movement and the marriage equality movement that coalition is queen. We've got to find allies and work with them to make sure our rights are protected. But equally important, we've got to ensure that we elect -- and I'd actually say more important -- is we've got to elect legislators, throughout the states and in Congress, who are champions for reproductive health.
我们要为我们的权利大声哭喊， 大声的说出来， 这是本来属于我们的权利。 从对“黑人的命也是命”运动 和婚姻平等运动的观察， 我们认识到，联盟为皇。 我们必须找到盟友， 一起战斗才能保证我们的权利得到保护。 但是同样重要的是， 我们需要确保我们选举—— 其实我该说更重要的是—— 我们必须在各个州和国会， 选举出拥护 生殖健康的立法者。

Now, I'm not going to bother to tell you all how to get politically active. This is a crowd that knows how to do it. But knowing how to do it and actually doing it are two different things, so what you need to do is get politically active.
现在，我不厌其烦地告诉你们 如何保持政治上的活跃。 这是一群知道如何去做的人。 但是知道如何去做和实际上做， 是两件不一样的事。 所以你们需要做的是 在政治上活跃起来。

But one of the things I will tell you is what would our world look like if we were able to wrest the reins of governmental power away from those who oppose abortion and allow an agenda that reflects reproductive freedoms and justice. Picture this. We would have childcare and universal childhood education in every community in this country. We would have paid maternity and paternity leaves, and people would actually take them. All working parents ought to have that right. You know --
我可以告诉你们， 这个世界将会变成什么样子， 如果我们能够夺取政府权利的缰绳， 让他们远离那些反对堕胎的人群， 并允许将 生殖自由和正义提上议事日程。 想象一下， 在这个国家的每个社区， 我们会拥有托儿服务和普及的儿童教育。 我们会有带薪的产假和陪产假， 而且人们会实实在在休这些假。 所有的在职父母都应该拥有这个权利。 你知道——

(Applause)
（掌声）

According to the Centers for Disease Control, African American women, Native American women, Alaska Native women are dying of pregnancy-related causes at three times the rate of white women. And most of those deaths are preventable. So in our world where we control the reins of power, we would ensure, we would ensure that there were programs to reduce this alarming rate of maternal mortality. And we would make sure that the systemic racism in our health care system would be eliminated. And we'd work to eliminate infertility with special programs for women who can't get pregnant. And we would make sure that all women are entitled to health care services at all stages of their life.
根据各疾病控制中心的信息， 非裔美国女性、 美洲原住民女性、阿拉斯加原住民女性， 死于怀孕相关因素的比例， 是白人女性的三倍。 而大多数这些死亡是可以避免的。 所以在那个我们能控制权利的世界里， 我们能保证， 我们能保证会有计划 来降低产妇死亡率的惊人比例。 我们也能保证 系统性的种族主义 在我们的医疗保健系统中 会被消除。 我们也会努力为无法怀孕的女性 提供医疗服务以减少不孕症。 我们还将确保所有的女性 在她们人生的所有阶段， 都有权享受医疗保健服务。

Now all of those things I've talked about, are family-friendly policies and ought to be supported by our opponents as well. I'll wait to see if that's the case. But in my world where we control the reins of power, we would do more. The birth control pill would be available over the counter.
我所提到的所有这些， 都是家庭友好政策， 应该也被我们的反对者支持。 我会等着看会不会这样。 但是在那个我们能控制权利的世界里， 我们可以做更多。 避孕药可以在柜台买到。

(Applause)
（掌声）

OK, as easy to get as a bottle of Tylenol. And we'd have quality sex education in every public school in this country.
就像一瓶泰诺感冒药一样容易得到。 我们会在全国的公立学校 推广优质的性教育。

(Applause)
（掌声）

And we would make sure that ... abortion is affordable and available -- no more bans, no more barriers, no more restrictions on funding. And medication abortion, the abortion pill, would be available not just at Planned Parenthoods and the dwindling number of abortion clinics in this country, but at pharmacies without a prescription, at walk-in health centers and on every college campus in the United States.
我们还将确保 可以堕胎并且可以负担得起、 没有禁令、没有障碍、 没有资金的限制。 药物流产的 口服药物， 将不仅可以在美国计划生育联合会 和正在减少的提供堕胎手术的诊所买到， 也能在药店以没有处方的方式、 非预约制的健康中心、 和大学校园里买到。

(Applause)
（掌声）

And if you had any doubt about the importance of getting politically active, we could also pass a constitutional amendment, what I call a gender equity amendment, that would guarantee to all persons the ability to make decisions not just about abortion, but about pregnancy and marriage and sexuality and parenting. And it would be a permanent part of the United States Constitution.
如果你对保持政治活跃的重要性 有任何疑问， 我们也可以通过 宪法修正案， 我所说的性别平等修正案， 这将保证所有人 有权利做决策，不仅仅是堕胎， 还包括怀孕和结婚， 性关系和育儿。 这将会成为美国宪法永久的一部分。

Now the important part of that is these rights should not be controlled by politicians. They shouldn't be dependent on where you live or how much money you make or the color of your skin or the person you love or the pronouns you use. These are universal fundamental human rights, and they ought to be guaranteed in law, in the Constitution, so the Supreme Court cannot willy-nilly take them away.
那么现在重要的是， 这些权利不应该被政治家们控制。 这些权利不应该取决于你住在哪， 你赚多少钱， 你的肤色， 你爱的人， 或者你用的代词。 这些是普世基本的人权， 应该在法律上，在宪法上， 得到保障。 所以最高法院不能随意将它们剥夺。

(Applause)
（掌声）

Now to do this, we need to elect champions for choice to the 500,000 elected seats in our government in this country: everything from school boards to town councils, to state legislatures to Congress and the White House. All of those seats need to be controlled by champions of our cause. And that can only happen if you get politically active. Your vote, your willingness to work in campaigns, write postcards, make phone calls, knock on doors, can make that happen. And even run for office, because that's what we need to do.
为了达到这个目标， 我们需要竞选活动， 争取我们国家的政府里 五十万个选举席位， 从学校董事会到市议会， 到州立法机关到国会和白宫。 所有这些席位都需要 被我们事业的拥护者所控制。 而这些，只有当你们 变得政治活跃才能发生。 你的投票，你参加竞选活动的意愿， 写卡片，打电话， 敲门， （任何一点努力） 都会让这些变成现实。 甚至竞选公职， 这正是我们需要做的。

Now while dire, the end of Roe is not the end of the story. To paraphrase Joan Baez, the best antidote to despair is action. And your action, your willingness to work hard cannot only preserve reproductive freedoms for ourselves but for our children as well. So let's do it.
虽然可怕，但罗伊案的告终 并不是故事的终结。 用琼·贝兹 (Joan Baez) 的话说， 绝望的最佳解药是行动。 而你们的行动， 你们努力的意愿， 不仅仅能保护我们自己的生殖自由， 也能保护我们孩子的自由。 所以行动起来吧！

Thank you.
谢谢！

(Cheers and applause)
（欢呼和掌声）