California Democrat Rep. Judy Chu arrested at Capitol during pro-choice protest

California Democrat Rep. Judy Chu arrested at Capitol during pro-choice protest

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U.S. Capitol Police arrested Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., on Thursday during a pro-choice protest for crowding, obstruction or incommoding.

Protesters blocked the intersection of First Street and Constitution Avenue beside both the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings on Wednesday afternoon. Capitol police arrested 181 people after giving multiple warnings to demonstrators, the department said in a Wednesday tweet.

“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,” Chu said in a Wednesday tweet following her arrest.

KENTUCKY ABORTION LAW TRIGGERED BY SUPREME COURT DECISION BLOCKED BY JUDGE

Demonstrations on Capitol Hill came after the Supreme Court last week ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The California representative shared another statement saying that when she first heard about Roe v. Wade being overturned, she “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.”

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There are 13 states in the country that are poised to enact immediate abortion bans since the ruling, and 13 more could quickly follow suit. Some of the bans include certain medical exemptions, such as ectopic pregnancies, as well as exemptions for rape and incest cases, but each law differs by state under the recent high court ruling.

“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 be silenced,” she said, adding that she is “ramping up” her efforts to “abolish the Senate filibuster” and pass her bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.