At least 17 Democratic congresswomen arrested after protesting in front of U.S. Supreme Court over abortion rights

Seventeen Democratic members of the U.S. Congress have been arrested Tuesday during a demonstration for abortion rights in front of the Supreme Court, where they were protesting the decision of the judicial body to remove the legal precedent that allowed abortion in the country.

U.S. Capitol Police have made a total of 35 arrests for “overcrowding, obstruction or discomfort,” including 17 members of Congress, including Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, police sources said on Twitter.

“We have arrested a total of 35 people for overcrowding, obstruction or discomfort (…) That number includes 17 members of Congress,” Capitol Police have reported, detailing that the arrests began after up to three warnings were given to leave the street.

NBC has detailed that other Democratic lawmakers arrested have been Carolyn Maloney, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Veronica Escobar, Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee and Ayanna Pressley. The congresswomen have justified their protest by assuring that they were participating in an act of civil disobedience.

“There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their own health, including reproductive care,” said Maloney, who is a representative of New York, in a statement accessed by the U.S. network CBS.

“I have the privilege of representing a state where reproductive rights are respected and protected; the least I can do is risk my body for the 33 million women who risk losing their rights,” added the congresswoman, alleging that the goal of the Republican Party and “right-wing extremists” is to “institute a national ban on abortion.”

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned last June 24 the legal precedent allowing abortion in the country, Roe v. Wade, which had been in use in the country since 1973.

Since then, Democrats have announced their intention to enshrine abortion rights into law, although such a measure lacks support in the Senate with the current composition. However, the Biden Administration has recently approved some measures to facilitate access to abortion medication and travel to states where abortion is available for women who request it.