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Ireland Weighs Repealing Abortion Ban in a Landmark Referendum
一次劃時代的全民公投 愛爾蘭考慮廢除墮胎禁令
ONMAY 25, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND will vote in a landmark referendum
5月25日，愛爾蘭共和國將就有力廢除了墮胎的愛爾蘭憲法第八修正案
on the eighth amendment of the country’s constitution, which effectively outlaws abortion.
舉行一次具有里程碑意義的全民公投。
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, 39, announced the referendum three months after becoming the country’s youngest leader in history.
39歲的總理利奧·瓦拉德卡爾，在當選該國歷史上最年輕的領導人的三個月后宣布了公投的消息。
While Ireland has taken some socially progressive steps in recent years,
雖然近年來愛爾蘭已經采取了一些社會進步舉措，
including legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015,
包括2015年批準了同性婚姻的合法地位，
the abortion issue remains divisive in the predominantly Catholic country.
然而，在這個天主教主導的國家里，國民對墮胎問題的看法仍然存在分歧。
(First of all,)RESTRICTIVE REPUBLIC
(一、)限制墮胎的共和國
Ireland’s abortion laws are among the world’s most restrictive.
愛爾蘭的墮胎法堪稱世界上最嚴苛的墮胎法之一。
The eighth amendment, passed in 1983, gives an unborn fetus a right to life equal to that of its pregnant mother.
1983年通過的第八修正案賦予了未出生的胎兒與懷孕母親同等的生命權。
Women can face a 14-year prison sentence for having an abortion, even in cases of rape or nonviable pregnancies.
墮胎的女性可能面臨長達14年的監禁，哪怕是在被強奸和胎兒畸形的情況下。
From 2010 to 2015, 25,000 Irish women traveled to England and Wales to terminate pregnancies.
從2010年到2015年間，共有2.5萬名愛爾蘭婦女前往英格蘭和威爾士終止妊娠。
(And then,there is)INCREMENTAL CHANGE
（二、）漸進的變革
A campaign to liberalize abortion laws gathered momentum in 2012,
2012年，在戈爾韋一家醫院流產的過程，
when 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar died in a Galway hospital after being refused an abortion during a miscarriage.
31歲的牙醫薩維塔·哈拉帕納瓦爾中因為墮胎的要求被拒絕而離開了人世，一場旨在放寬墮胎法的運動逐漸抬頭。
In 2013, abortion became possible in cases where the mother’s life is in immediate danger.
2013年，產婦生命岌岌可危的一些案例中，墮胎逐漸成為了可能。
Varadkar’s government favors further liberalizing the law,
瓦拉德卡爾的政府傾向于進一步放寬法律，
and if the repeal passes, his government hopes to pass legislation legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
如果廢除該法案的提案獲得通過，他的政府希望能夠通過立法，使懷孕頭12周內的墮胎行為合法化。
Some abortion-rights activists believe the law should go further, which Varadkar has said is unlikely.
一些爭取墮胎權利的活動人士認為，應該將墮胎的期限再放寬一點，但瓦拉德卡爾表示那不太可能。
(And then,)CONTENTIOUS ISSUE
（三、）爭議的問題
Ireland only fully legalized divorce and contraception as recently as the 1990s,
直到20世紀90年代，愛爾蘭才將離婚和避孕完全合法化，
and the vote in May is set to be close.
而5月份的投票結果也已經接近尾聲了。
Rallies to repeal the ban have been held in cities across Europe,
歐洲各地城市都舉行了集會，要求廢除該禁令，
while a “Save the Eighth” demonstration in Dublin attracted tens of thousands of people in March.
三月在都柏林舉行的“拯救第八修正案”游行也吸引了成千上萬人的目光。
A recent poll found that 47% of voters are in favor of repealing the ban,
最近的一項民意調查顯示，47%的選民支持廢除該禁令，
while 28% would leave it in place; others are undecided or abstaining.
28%的人支持保留這一禁令；剩下的人要么猶豫不決，要么放棄了投票。
Whatever the result, it is unlikely to signal the end of the debate—for either side.
結果無論如何，都不太可能標志著這一辯論將就此結束——而且，對任何一方來說都是如此。
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