Capitol Police have arrested 181 abortion activists blocking First Street and Constitution Avenue outside the Senate office building Thursday in Washington, D.C., including Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
Capitol Police tweeted they had given second and third warnings before conducting the arrests of unlawful protesters.
"We arrested 181 people for Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding (DC Code § 22–1307) for blocking the intersection of Constitution Avenue, NE and First Street, NE," the tweet from the official Capitol Police Twitter account read.
"The intersection reopened at approximately 1:20 p.m."
Abortion activists have been upset the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade precedent and effectively have kicked the issue of abortion law, constitutionally, back to the individual states. Conservatives have long argued that is where abortion law belongs, noting the Constitution does not list abortion as a human right and the killing of unborn babies is not a constitutionally provided right.
"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," Chu told The Hill in a statement.
"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. 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."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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