17 Democrat lawmakers arrested at abortion rights protest
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The US Capitol police arrests Democratic members of Congress over a protest demanding the overturning of the Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
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Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York detained by US Capitol Police Officers on in Washington, DC, July 19, 2022 (AFP)
Some 17 Democratic legislators, including prominent figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, were detained at a protest calling for the protection of abortion rights outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Tuesday, police said.
The US Capitol police announced on Twitter making a total of 35 arrests for "Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding" in DC after demonstrators blocked traffic on a nearby road. The arrest was made following the issuing of three warnings that went ignored. "That arrest number includes 17 Members of Congress."
Correction: We made a total of 35 arrests for Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding (DC Code § 22–1307).
— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) July 19, 2022
That arrest number includes 17 Members of Congress.
The small demonstration was not the first in front of the Supreme Court since the latter made its controversial ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which conferred the right of women to have an abortion if they so wished.
The Supreme Court's decision granted states to restrict abortion however they saw fit and regulate the procedure according to the court's written opinion.
"The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," the ruling said.
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Protests over abortion rights outside US Supreme Court
Human rights experts from the United Nations condemned the Supreme Court decision and urged US President Joe Biden to take all necessary steps to mitigate its repercussions.
"Today I was arrested while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court," Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar said on Twitter.
Today I was arrested while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 19, 2022
I will continue to do everything in my power to raise the alarm about the assault on our reproductive rights! ✊🏽pic.twitter.com/rpFYOGBDf4
"There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their own health, including reproductive care," said New York Democratic representative Carolyn Maloney following her arrest.
"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."
Footage showed AOC, Omar, and Maloney, among others, being led away by police. They were not handcuffed, and they were waving to supporters.
The protest was relatively small compared to its predecessors, but it still portrays the public disapproval in the United States of the Supreme Court's ruling after its decision sparked nationwide protests calling for the overturning of the ruling.
