Seventeen Democratic members of Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were among 35 people arrested for protesting for abortion rights outside the US Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The protestors were arrested for blocking traffic, as they took to the street in Washington D.C., carrying signs reading “My body, my choice.”
A spokesperson for the US Capitol Police said the group was given three warnings to disperse, but when they failed to do so, 35 people were arrested for Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.
The demonstrators were protesting against the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which removed the nationwide right to abortion and allowed states to severely restrict access to it.
List of Democrats arrested for protesting for abortion rights
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Ilhan Omar
- Rashida Tlaib
- Ayanna Pressley
- Jackie Speier
- Bonnie Watson Coleman
- Cori Bush
- Katherine Clark
- Andy Levin
- Alma Adams
- Veronica Escobar
- Carolyn Maloney
- Madeleine Dean
- Nydia Velazquez
- Sara Jacobs
- Jan Schakowsky
Following her arrest, Rep Ilhan Omar said: "Today I was arrested in a civil disobedience action at the Supreme Court to protest Roe v Wade getting overturned and the assault on reproductive rights across the country.
"Our reproductive rights are under assault across the country, thanks to an extremist court with little regard for precedent or our basic rights. I will do whatever it takes, including putting my body on the line, to protect our reproductive rights."
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said in a statement: “Civil disobedience has always been part of our history and fight for change. This moment and the fight for women’s and reproductive rights calls for it.
“Moving with urgency is what my residents are demanding. The unhinged minority far-right continues to strip us of our civil rights and liberties, so I joined my colleagues and advocates to call for swift action to not only ensure nationwide access to abortion care and reproductive health care as rights.”
Congresswoman Tlaib also said: “It must not be lost that while we took arrest today, those who can become pregnant and their health care providers face much graver dangers, including arrest but also violence, in states across this country.
“The fundamentalist far-right will not stop with the criminalization of our bodies. Last week, House Democrats took action to protect the right to travel as health care providers and patients are being targeted for seeking and performing safe and legal abortions. The fight is far from over and we must push forward with bold action to protect and preserve our rights. We won’t back down.”
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, of New York, said in a statement: "There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their own health, including reproductive care.
"I have the privilege of representing a state where reproductive rights are respected and protected — the least I can do is put my body on the line for the 33 million women at risk of losing their rights.
“The Republican Party and the right-wing extremists behind this decision are not pro-life, but pro-controlling the bodies of women, girls, and any person who can become pregnant. Their ultimate goal is to institute a national ban on abortion. We will not let them win. We will be back."
