VOA标准英语2012--NYC Schools Expand Birth Control Availability
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十月)
NYC Schools Expand Birth Control Availability
Every year in New York, more than 2,500 girls under 18 give birth, and many drop out of school. So officials began a program last year making hormonal 1 birth control available at 13 high schools with high pregnancy 2 rates.
Condoms have long been provided, but now girls may request Depo-Provera birth control shots, or Plan-B, an emergency contraceptive taken after unprotected sex. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the program is necessary.
"Well, the good news is, we brought teenage pregnancy down by I think something like 25 percent over the last ten years. The bad news is there's still an awful lot of girls who get pregnant at a very early age," Bloomberg stated.
Michele Handelman is a nurse-midwife and the mother of two public high school students. She says New York State law gives teenagers the right to birth control and abortion 3 without parental 4 notification. "They have the right to get free and confidential 5 care, to prevent infections, get tested for HIV, and to protect themselves from pregnancy," she explained.
Parents can opt 6 a child out of the program. But Mona Davids, head of the New York City Parents Union, said most parents were not informed. "It is not okay for Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Education to circumvent 7 our rights," she said. "And to allow our children to take a chemical-hormonal drug cocktail 8 without our informed consent.”
She says schools cannot give other drugs, even aspirin 9, without parental consent and that long-term effects of hormonal birth control are unknown.
But Handelman says Depo-Provera and Plan B are safe.
"They don't have the estrogen in them that has been associated with blood clots 10, so in terms of any kind of dangerous side effects, there really are none. By far, the risk of pregnancy is more of a health hazard," Handelman asserrted.
Mona Davids, however, says there's a better way to prevent teen pregnancy.
"If Mayor Bloomberg truly cares about our children and stopping teenage pregnancy, he would invest in our schools," Davids added. "He would put the money back into those school budgets, so that they could have after-school programs, extra-curricular activities."
Davids says her group plans to sue to require parental consent.
- Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
- She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。
- Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
- Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。
- She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
- A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。
- He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
- Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
- He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
- We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。
- They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
- Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？
- Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
- Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。
- We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
- At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。
- The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
- She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。