The abortion pill is a miracle. Mifepristone, then called RU-486, was synthesized(合成) by a French lab in the 1980s; in combination with misoprostol, commonly used as ulcer medication, it cuts off the body’s supply of progesterone, halts the development of a pregnancy, and incites(引发，激起) contractions, which empty the uterus. The drug allows pregnancies to be terminated with a shocking degree of reliability and ease. Gone are(一去不复返了) the concoctions(调制品，混合物) of ergot and Spanish Fly dispensed by 19th century midwives, which only sometimes worked to induce a miscarriage; gone are the backroom procedures of the pre-Roe US, when drunk, lascivious(好色的，淫荡的), incompetent or cruel providers wielded(挥舞，使用) bent coat hangers in dirty rooms. The abortion pill is safe, effective and cheaper than ever. And since Dobbs, it’s everywhere: even if you live in a state with an abortion ban, you can get the pills shipped to your house in the mail. Since Roe was overturned, there has not been a return to the terror of mass death that marked the pre-Roe era of septic abortion wards, where women routinely found themselves maimed, sickened or killed.(自罗伊案被推翻以来，并未回到前罗伊时代脓毒性流产病房那种大规模死亡的恐怖，当时妇女经常被致残、致病或致死。) There’s exactly one reason why: because illegal abortions were largely unsafe without the pill, and they are extremely safe with it.
堕胎药是一个奇迹。米非司酮，当时称为RU-486，由一家法国实验室在20世纪80年代合成；与常用于治疗溃疡的米索前列醇联合使用时，它能切断身体对孕酮的供应，阻止妊娠发育，并引发宫缩，从而排空子宫。这种药物能以惊人的可靠性和便捷性终止妊娠。19世纪助产士配发的麦角和斑蝥混合药剂，那些只是偶尔能诱发流产的东西，已经一去不复返了；罗伊案之前美国那些见不得人的地下手术，那些醉酒、淫荡、无能或残忍的施术者在肮脏的房间里挥舞着弯曲的衣架的场景，也已经一去不复返了。堕胎药安全、有效，而且比以往任何时候都便宜。自多布斯案以来，它无处不在：即使你住在禁止堕胎的州，你也可以通过邮件将药片寄到家中。自罗伊案被推翻以来，并没有回到前罗伊时代那种大规模死亡的恐怖，那个时代以脓毒性流产病房为标志，妇女经常发现自己被致残、致病或致死。原因只有一个：因为非法堕胎在没有这种药的情况下基本上不安全，而有了它则极其安全。
So of course, the Trump administration and their allies on the American right are trying to get rid of(摆脱，除掉) it. And this month, they gained a powerful new ally when Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and an anti-abortion zealot(狂热分子), was confirmed(确认，批准) as attorney general.
所以，当然，特朗普政府及其在美国右翼的盟友正试图摆脱它。而本月，他们获得了一个强大的新盟友：唐纳德·特朗普的前私人律师、反堕胎狂热分子托德·布兰奇被确认为司法部长。
The vote, in which Blanche was confirmed by a margin of one(以一票之差) along party lines(按照党派界限), was conducted in the wee hours(凌晨时分) of the morning on 8 August. Maybe that’s because the Republicans who confirmed him didn’t want anyone to see what they were doing. Blanche has, after all, been shockingly subservient(顺从的，屈从的) to Donald Trump, and seems poised to(准备好做某事) complete the president’s long-brewing(酝酿已久的) transformation of the country’s chief law enforcement agency into a vehicle for score settling(清算旧账), personal vendettas(世仇，宿怨), distributing favors to the administration’s friends and suppressing dissent from its political enemies. But perhaps most incendiary(煽动性的) is what Blanche has said, publicly and privately, about how he intends to use the justice department and its vast array of oversight powers, legal prerogatives(特权，权力), and investigatory purview(范围，权限) to curtail(削减，限制) abortion access nationwide – and to shut down the life-saving distribution of mifepristone, in particular.
这次投票中，布兰奇以党内一票之差获得确认，投票于8月8日凌晨进行。也许这是因为确认他的共和党人不想让任何人看到他们在做什么。毕竟，布兰奇对唐纳德·特朗普表现出令人震惊的顺从，似乎准备完成总统酝酿已久的计划，将国家首席执法机构转变为清算旧账、个人仇杀、向政府朋友分派好处以及压制政治异见的工具。但或许最具有煽动性的是布兰奇公开和私下所说的，他打算如何利用司法部及其庞大的监督权力、法律特权和调查权限来限制全国范围内的堕胎途径——尤其是终止米非司酮的救命分发。