Seventeen members of the United States Congress and other activists were detained on a Tuesday during a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court to demand protection of abortion rights. The protest confronted a judicial landscape that had moved to curtail long-standing legal precedents supporting access to abortion. Capitol Police reported the overall arrests at 35 for reasons including overcrowding, obstruction, or disturbance, with 17 of those taken into custody being members of Congress, according to police sources shared on social media.
The Capitol Police statement specified that a total of 35 individuals were arrested for overcrowding, congestion, or disturbance, a figure that included 17 members of Congress. NBC later identified additional Democratic lawmakers involved in the action, including Carolyn Maloney, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Veronica Escobar, Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee, and Ayanna Pressley. Members of Congress defended their participation as civil disobedience aimed at highlighting a critical public policy issue.
Maloney, the New York representative, stated in a CBS interview that democracy requires women to have control over their bodies and decisions about their health, including reproductive care. She noted that she is privileged to represent a state where reproductive rights are protected and expressed willingness to risk her safety on behalf of the approximately 33 million women who could lose these rights. She argued that opponents, including some Republicans and those on the far right, were attempting to impose a national abortion ban.
The timing followed the Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling associated with Roe v. Wade, a decision that shifted the legal landscape surrounding abortion access. In response, Democrats signaled their intent to codify abortion rights into federal law, though the current Senate configuration does not appear to support passage of such measures. The Biden administration has also pursued actions intended to expand access to abortion, including measures to facilitate travel to states where abortion services remain available and to provide access to medication for individuals seeking to terminate pregnancies.