On Friday, June 24, the United States Supreme Court issued their majority opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, upholding a 2018 Mississippi state law banning most abortions after 15 weeks.
In doing so, the SCOTUS overturned the 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade which afforded people reproductive choices with minimal government interference or restrictions.
While the May leak of the draft of the majority opinion mobilized many reproductive rights proponents, the official release of the decision lead to more widespread protests across the United States.
At a protest in Washington DC, California Democratic Representative Judy Chu drew cheers from the gathered pro-reproductive rights crowd as she was arrested by the Capitol Police.
You can see footage of her arrest here:
Representative Chu is a leading sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act which would safeguard reproductive healthcare including abortion, contraception and tubal ligation.
Chu said in a statement:
"When I first heard Roe was overturned, I immediately thought of who would be most harmed by this decision: a young girl who is a survivor of rape, a woman who cannot afford to travel to another state to access critical care, an expecting mother with an ectopic pregnancy whose life is in danger because she cannot have an abortion."
"So, when I think of all these women—and more—the decision to join in a peaceful demonstration to make clear we will not allow the clock to be rolled back on abortion rights was easy."
The Women’s Health Protection Act passed in the House.
The act is stymied in the Senate by the Republican filibuster on all Democratic sponsored legislation.
Chu remarked:
"We are in this together and we will not back down or be silenced."
"I am ramping up my calls to abolish the Senate filibuster—and actively exploring every option to ensure we pass my bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which establishes a federal right to abortion care, and have it signed into law."
“Lives are at stake and this fight is far from over."
The peaceful rally was organized by Planned Parenthood.
Capitol Police arrested 181 people outside the Capitol on Thursday for "crowding, obstructing, incommoding or blocking a main intersection."
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