Ayanna Pressley, Katherine Clark Arrested Protesting For Abortion Rights In DC

Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Katherine Clark were among 17 Democrats arrested in front of the Supreme Court during a protest over the recent ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade.

A Capitol police officer walks Rep. Ayanna Pressley away after arresting her during a protest in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 19. She was one of 17 members of Congress arrested for protesting for abortion rights.
Photo Credit: *@maeldahshoury via Twitter*

Josh Lanier

07/19/2022 6:06 p.m.

The two Massachusetts members of Congress joined dozens of people on Tuesday, July 19, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

They wore green bandanas that said "Won’t Back Down" and chanted "The people, united, will never be divided," as Capitol Police arrested them away for blocking traffic, CNN reported.

This comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed a woman's right to an abortion, last month. Now, each state will decide the conditions of if and when a woman can terminate a pregnancy.

“The extremist Republican Party is determined to take us back in time and take away our rights. I refuse to stand on the sidelines as their rampage continues,” said Clark, who represents Massachusetts 5th District, following her arrest, per Yahoo. “I am furious and heartbroken, and I will proudly fight for our right to abortion and all of our Constitutional rights. They can arrest me, but we won’t allow them to arrest freedom.”

Pressley, who serves Massachusetts 7th-District, chanted, "If we don't get it, shut it down" and held a sign that read, "my body, my choice" as police led her away.

“This Supreme Court has been relentless in stripping away our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, but we’re not backing down," she said in a statement. "Today, we put our bodies on the line to defend abortion rights because the stakes in this fight could not be higher.

Other members of Congress arrested included Reps. Barbara Lee of California, Rashida Talib of Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Jackie Speier of California, Carolyn Maloney of New York, Veronica Escobar of Texas, Sara Jacobs of California, Alma Adams of North Carolina, Bonnie Watson of New Jersey, Nydia Velazquez of New York, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Andy Levin of Michigan, according to Yahoo.

Police arrested 35 in all and charged them with crowding, obstructing, and incommoding, CBS Boston said.

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