U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, was arrested Tuesday for blocking the streets while protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of abortion rights.
Escobar was part of a demonstration to preserve access to abortion with several other Democratic congresswomen, including high-profile Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass; all of whom were also arrested.
Capitol Police tweeted that they arrested 35 protesters, including 17 members of Congress. They said they issued multiple warnings before making the arrests.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, was also part of the demonstration, but she was not arrested, her spokesperson told The Texas Tribune.
The protest comes days after House Democrats voted to codify a federal protection for abortion access and explicitly permit interstate travel to receive an abortion. The bill, dubbed the Women’s Health Protection Act, attracted wide support across the caucus, with 215 cosponsors.
All Democrats in the Texas delegation cosponsored the bill, with the exception of South Texas moderate Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez. Gonzalez ended up voting for the measure, but Cuellar voted against it.
The measures are unlikely to pass in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to break a Republican filibuster.
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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/19/veronica-escobar-arrested-roe-protest/.
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