Friday, 24 June 2022
Post by Evangelos Venizelos
History as a woman - Can the unthinkable decision on abortions save American democracy and work as a catalyst for the war in Ukraine?
On 4.5.2022, on the occasion of the leak of the draft of the US Supreme Court decision on abortions, I had written a comment*. Unfortunately, the draft was accurate and was officially published today as a decision.
This is a historical reversal. A tragic regression that will further divide the already divided American society and will have a catalytic effect on political developments in American democracy. There is the chance that -at a great cost to rights protection- the decision might ultimately affect the political orientation of the US in a positive manner. An interesting heterogeneity of purposes may occur.
Furthermore, in my opinion, there is an obvious intersection of the decision and its social and political consequences with the war in Ukraine and the conflict between the West and Russia. The conflict essentially concerns the resilience of liberal democracy and the existence of the West as a strategic entity. Since the crisis is testing the resilience of the western liberal democracies, it will be judged within their boundaries. Mostly within the boundaries of American democracy.
Here, the second and greater heterogeneity of purpose of the extreme conservative majority of the members of the US Supreme Court may be found. As for the legal aspects of the decision, please refer to my original comment posted on 4.5.2022. Much will be said internationally among my peers. Besides, the dimension of values, the political and ultimately geopolitical dimension overlap the legal dimension.
Also, history is in the making and will give its own answer to the six justices (with the nuances of chief justice Roberts' opinion) of the US Supreme Court. Personified as a woman, History will punish them.
* https://evenizelos.gr/mme/statementsgr/454-statements2022/6670-alito.html
