Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., was detained by US Capitol Police on Thursday at a pro-choice demonstration for crowding, obstruction, or discomfort.
On Wednesday afternoon, protesters shut down the junction of First Street and Constitution Avenue close to the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings. Following many warnings to protesters, Capitol police made 181 arrests, according to a tweet from the department on Wednesday.
Chu stated in a tweet on Wednesday after being arrested, “The decision to march today was easy—I came out to march for the young rape survivor, the woman who cannot afford to travel to another state to access critical care, the mother with an ectopic pregnancy whose life is in danger. I came out to march for all of us.”
Beyond the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi statute that forbids abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last week, protests were held on Capitol Hill.
Proud to join activists and community leaders today to say loud and clear – we WON’T back down. We will NOT go back. #bansoffourbodieshttps://t.co/c9UOQNywFu
— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) June 30, 2022
The California representative released a second statement in which she claimed that when she first learned that Roe v. Wade had been overturned, she immediately considered those people who would be most negatively impacted, including a young girl who had been the victim of rape, a woman who couldn’t afford to travel to another state for urgent care, and an expectant mother with an ectopic pregnancy whose life was in danger because she was unable to access an abortion.
Since the verdict, 13 states in the US are prepared to institute immediate prohibitions on abortion, and 13 more may soon do the same. Since the latest high court decision, each state’s laws are different and some of the prohibitions have specific medical exemptions, such as ectopic pregnancies, as well as exemptions for rape and incest instances.
