Agnieszka Paczynska, an American born in Poland 55 years ago, works as a professor of Political Science at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. She came to the United States in 1981. After living in various cities across the country, she ended up settling in Washington, where her only daughter, Nell Lyons, 18, a student, was born. Both define themselves as “liberal”, in a city where that is the norm: 92.15% voted Democrat in the last elections. Both defend the right to abortion.
Paczynska says proudly that Lyons is used to lecturing her when they discuss politics. The young woman admits that they usually agree, except that she is “always a little more pessimistic”, to which her mother replies: “The truth is that you have reasons”. She one of them has taken the right to abortion for granted throughout her reproductive life. The other faces a future in which the GOP aspires to sign a federal ban into law. At the moment, a recent ruling by the Supreme Court gave back to the States the power to regulate on the subject by knocking down a half-century precedent set by the controversial ruling Roe vs. Wade. 26 of the 50 states that make up the Union threaten to ban or severely restrict it.
The District of Columbia is not a state, but abortion is legal. “Though,” recalls Paczynska, “that could change too. Washington is run by the party that controls the House of Representatives, and the Republicans have sent signals,” she adds, “that they could ban abortion here if they take control, which could happen as early as November. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve used the district as a test lab for their policies.”
Mother and daughter met last week in a café at the Washington station, a stone’s throw from the Supreme Court and the Capitol, to talk about the new reality.
P. How did you receive the court decision?
AP It was preceded by the leak of the sentence, so it was not a surprise. Besides, she had seen it coming for years. More or less since they introduced [el juez consevador] Brett Kavanaugh in Supreme [donde los liberales están en una minoría, inédita desde los años treinta, de tres contra seis]. A part of me hoped that there might be some changes between the draft and the final text… but I was wrong. Once again, my optimism was shown: I am used to hoping against hope.
NL Certainly, it was only a matter of time.
AP When Kavanaugh came in, we were being accused of overreacting. They said: it is a precedent of half a century, and those precedents are not annulled like this. They called us hysterical, because those judges [los tres nombrados por Donald Trump: además de Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett y Neil Gorsuch] had promised to respect the precedent of gnaws. So it was not a surprise, as I say, but I was impressed by the scope of the sentence, its selective and severe interpretation of history is very impressive. And the concurring opinion of the judge [Clarence] Thomas is really worrying, because he somehow pointed to other issues on the table, like gay marriage or contraception. Some of the laws that have already been enacted throughout the country are placing women in precarious spaces, leaving them unprotected, because it is not clear where the line is where a crime is incurred in a natural abortion, for example.
NL Many doctors wonder where their medical care can lead to a pregnant patient. How close to death does a person have to be before they are allowed to intervene? What is happening is terrible. I am also curious to see how they intend to deal with the claims, which are already taking place in some States, by the Jewish religious authorities. The scriptures say that a woman should have an abortion if she is at risk, physical or mental. It is a conflict with religious freedom. And this time “religion” is not synonymous with the Christian fundamentalism that rules the Supreme Court.
P. Do you trust the ability of the Democratic Party in Congress?
NL I tend to be quite pessimistic. Most of the solutions that are proposed, rather than solutions, are short-term patches. A long-term solution would involve resetting the system and starting over. I don’t know if that’s possible, frankly.
AP We will see. We’ve been saying for 50 years that abortion protection should be codified. And they never have. Meanwhile, the Republicans have worked slowly, very, very strategically. Admittedly, anti-abortionists have played their cards very well. I don’t think the Democrats can do much about it, not with their prospects in next November’s election, in which the ruling party often loses seats. Something very extraordinary would have to happen.
NL I agree, but again I’m a bit more pessimistic. The Democratic Party frustrates me tremendously; they are very bad at the art of politics. They do not seem to have understood who they are up against, opponents who lack morality. Especially over the last 10 years, it’s been clear that if they can’t get abortion rights into law, the Republicans are going to kill them. They had opportunity after opportunity, after opportunity, to do it, and they didn’t. That’s why I was pissed off when the Supreme Court decision came out and they started sending donation requests to the Democratic Party, and those “vote for us” requests. In the end, politicians are only interested in that, personal power, being reelected. And there, one and the other are the same.
P. Speaking of re-elections… What do your 18-year-old friends think of Joe Biden as a candidate who is about to turn 83 in 2024?
NL Let’s leave it where none of us are excited. But if it were Biden against Trump, then there would be no other. I also believe that not even the best politician in the world will fix this country without a total restructuring of the system. And I think it’s almost impossible for that to happen.
P. That feeling of inevitability that your generation has inherited, doesn’t it lead you to nihilism?
NL You are right. Pessimism spreads in my circle. And honestly, I’m not surprised given how catastrophically upside down everything is. I think most people my age are really questioning whether they’ll ever have children. The Earth has literally become a ball of fire from climate change. Even if things get better, it makes one think that it is better not to procreate. It’s terribly depressing. Most of my friends doubt whether we can live long enough to reach old age. Let’s say we’ve been robbed of some of the basic rites of passage. I think older generations don’t realize what an intense and dark hole we’re in. We’ve already missed important moments in life with the pandemic, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change for the rest of our lives.
P. Agnieszka, you came to the United States around the same age as your daughter. How did you see things then?
AP I came to this country with Ronald Reagan in the White House, a time when many of the seeds we now see germinate were planted. In Poland, the restrictions have become draconian in recent years, thanks to the right-wing populist government that we have. But for years, even before the transition (I left the country after the failure of Solidarity’s first democratization attempt), I was quite permissive. About two years ago there was a women’s strike. It was interesting to see how it was supported in small towns as well, whose environment tends to be much more conservative. In this, Poland and the United States are similar. As is the case in Texas, where liberal cities like Austin, Dallas or Houston are surrounded by more conservative areas. I find the case of Mexico inspiring, where the activists managed to turn the situation around. America is always a more complicated place. It is difficult to organize a joint action, due to the very structure of such a large territory, and with so many laws. The reality for a woman of reproductive age is very different in New York than it is in Louisiana.
P. It is also between neighboring states… What do you feel when you hear cases like that of the 10-year-old girl, raped in Ohio, and who had to travel to Indiana to have an abortion?
NL It is awful. Obviously, this is an extreme situation, but it shows the uncertainty that these new legislations create. As for those who say that a 10-year-old girl should carry her pregnancy to an end, I simply think that they are not decent human beings. It is a basic moral issue.
P. Do you see a reconciliation between these two Americas as possible?
AP Because of my natural tendency to optimism, I think there has to be, although I don’t see it close. I cling to the hope that most Americans do not belong to that extremist camp that seems to dominate the Republican Party at the moment. Polls indicate that the majority, including their voters, support access to abortion, with more or less restrictions. The same goes for gun control. That more right-wing faction is pushing, trying to push through increasingly extremist legislation. In the best case, many of those who are disconnected, who may not even vote, could be activated, because suddenly some of these new measures begin to affect them directly. Now, if that doesn’t happen, I don’t see how there could be a middle ground between the extremes. Sometimes I doubt that both parties share the reality. And it’s hard to fix a table when you can’t even agree on the fact that what you have before your eyes is… a table.
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