堕胎争论登上美国大选舞台中央

    This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

    The Republican Party's national convention opens Monday in Tampa, Florida. Republican delegates will officially nominate former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the party's candidate for president. Democratic Party delegates will gather in Charlotte, North Carolina the following week to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term.
    美国共和党代表大会将于下周在佛罗里达州的坦帕市开幕。共和党代表将正式提名前马萨诸塞州州长米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)为该党的总统候选人。民主党代表下周将齐聚北卡罗莱纳州的夏洛特市,提名巴拉克·奥巴马竞选连任。

    This week, a Republican lawmaker's comments pushed the debate about abortion to the center of the election campaign. Missouri Congressman Todd Akin is a candidate for the United States Senate. A reporter asked him to explain his opposition to the operation, even in cases of rape. Mr. Akin said it was his understanding from doctors that rape victims rarely get pregnant. He said that, in the case of what he called "legitimate rape," the female body has ways to stop a pregnancy. And he said the rapist should be punished, not the child resulting from the attack.
    本周,一名共和党议员的言论将堕胎争论推到了竞选活动的中心。密苏里州众议员托德·埃金(Todd Akin)是美国参议院候选人。有记者请他解释他对堕胎,甚至是强奸案中堕胎的反对立场。埃金表示,他从医生那了解到,强奸案受害人很少怀孕。他称,在他所谓的“正常强奸”的情况下,女性身体有办法阻止怀孕。同时他还称应该受惩罚的是强奸犯,而不是强奸导致的婴儿。

    His comments were widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. Many described them as "insensitive." President Obama and Mr. Romney were quick to condemn the statements.
    他的言论遭到了民主党和共和党双方的广泛批评。许多人称他“麻木不仁”。奥巴马总统和罗姆尼都迅速对此表示谴责。

    OBAMA: "The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape."
    奥巴马:“他所表达的观点是无礼的,强奸就是强奸。”

    ROMNEY: "His comments about rape were deeply offensive. And I can't defend what he said. I can't defend him."
    罗姆尼:“他对强奸的言论是非常无礼的。我无法赞同他的言论,无法为他辩护。”

    Congressman Akin has apologized. He even approved a political advertisement asking for forgiveness.
    众议员埃金已经就此道歉。他甚至批准了一个政治广告请求原谅。

    AKIN: "Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize."
    埃金:“强奸是恶行。我说错话了,并为此道歉。”

    But some people say the apology is unlikely to stop calls from Republican leaders for him to leave the Senate race. Political observer Rhodes Cook says the issue shows the problem Republican candidates have with women voters.
    但是也有人说,道歉不可能让共和党领导人停止呼吁他退出参议员竞选。政治观察员罗德斯·库克(Rhodes Cook)表示,这个争端显示出了共和党候选人与女性选民之间的问题。

    COOK: "They saw this being a terrible comment, one that made them by extension appear to be insensitive to women and their plight, particularly as victims of a horrendous crime like rape."
    库克:“他们视其为一种可怕的言论。推而广之这种言论会使得人们认为他们似乎对女性及其困境,特别是对强奸这类可怕罪行的受害人麻木不仁。”

    Rhodes Cook and other observers say the comments could provide more fuel for Democratic claims that Republicans are leading a "war on women." Republicans have faced criticism from women's groups for opposing abortion and rules that health care insurance pay for birth control.
    库克和其他观察员表示,这一言论可能为民主党声称共和党正领导一场针对女性的战争提供更多火力。共和党因为反对堕胎和医疗保险为节育提供报销的规定而遭到了女性团体的批评。

    On Tuesday, Republican delegates agreed to support a call for a constitutional ban on abortion as part of their party's platform. The statement makes no exceptions for rape or the sexual attack of a child or young person by a family member. The Democratic Party platform supports a woman's right to choose.
    周二,共和党代表同意支持修宪禁止堕胎作为其党纲的一部分。这份声明未将强奸,或青年与儿童受家庭成员性侵害(而堕胎)视为例外。民主党党纲支持女性对堕胎的选择权。

    Larry Sabato is head of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He says social issues like abortion usually have a big influence on voter support.
    拉里·萨巴托(Larry Sabato)是弗吉尼亚大学政治中心的负责人。他表示,堕胎一类的社会问题通常对选民支持具有重大影响力。

    SABATO: "People have very strong feelings on both sides, and it's a single issue for a lot of people. Once they know your position on it, pro or con, pro-choice or pro-life, they decide how they're going to vote, They actually ignore economic issues and issues of foreign policy and a whole wide range of other subjects."
    萨巴托:“人们对堕胎正反两面的意见情绪都很激动,对很多人来说这是一个单一的问题。一旦他们知道你对此的立场,赞成或反对,提倡堕胎或反堕胎,他们就会决定如何投票。他们实际上忽视了经济问题、外交政策问题,以及其它全部问题。”

    Both he and Rhodes Cook say it is unclear whether the comments will have an effect on the elections in November. But they say the comments are likely to live on in Democratic political ads. And they say that if Mr. Akin continues to ignore calls to end his candidacy, the effects could be major.
    萨巴托和库克都表示,目前还不清楚这一言论是否会影响11月的大选。但他们说,这一言论可能会在民主党的政治广告中存活下去。他们还说,如果埃金先生继续无视终止他候选人资格的呼吁,其影响可能是重大的。

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