correction An earlier version of this story had the wrong location for the protest, which was on First Street and NE Syntagma Avenue. The story has been corrected. More than 180 abortion rights protesters were arrested Thursday after sitting and blocking an intersection near the Supreme Court as they demanded that lawmakers across the country protect and extend access to abortion. The demonstration, organized by the People’s Democracy Action Center and the Parents’ Planned Action Fund, comes after days of protests over the Supreme Court’s decision last week to overturn Roe vs. Wadethe 49-year-old decision that guarantees the constitutional right of the individual to abortion. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Thursday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Constitution NE. “This is a woman’s right to her body,” said actress Alysia Reiner, who was among the celebrities and politicians who took part in the protest. “We have to defend physical autonomy against a government that cares so little about our rights.” Police led traffic away from the junction and began arresting protesters at around 12:30 pm, US Capitol Police said they arrested 181 people for preventing the junction. Katelyn Leonard, 39, was already outside the Supreme Court with a sign saying “Keep ‘Your God out of my womb’” when she decided to join the march. Leonard, a fifth-grade teacher at DC Public Schools, said she was there for her students. Her eyes flooded when she saw a woman her mother’s age being arrested. “Knowing that she, my mother and my aunt were protesting 50 years ago and that this is still going on today,” Leonard said. “If people do not see anger; nothing changes.” Kendra Brooks, a Philadelphia City Council general, came to protest with her 18-year-old daughter. Brooks, 49, said she was a teenage mother in college when she terminated her pregnancy. “I would do it again,” said Brooks, who was balancing school and motherhood at the time, while her partner had three children of his own. “Many women have similar stories, but we carry these stories with shame and in secret. In fact, we should not justify why we had an abortion. “ MP Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Who was also arrested, said in a telephone interview with the Washington Post that she was stepping up calls for the Senate’s abolition and was seeking support for her own bill establishing a federal right to abortion care. “Every important right we have in this country – the vote or the rights of women – has arisen as a result of protests,” Chu said. “This is what changed things in America for the better.” At 1:22 p.m., DC police wrote on Twitter that the demonstration was over and the intersection was reopened to traffic. Ellie Silverman and Peter Hermann contributed to this report.
