Michigan Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Andy Levin arrested protesting for abortion rights outside Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – Michigan Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Andy Levin were arrested after a protest for abortion rights outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

They were among several other Democrats in Congress arrested and led off by police after participating in the sit-in with activists from the Center for Popular Democracy Action (CPDA).

“First time doing a civil disobedience action with my sister @IlhanMN (Rep. Ilhan Omar). Reproductive freedom is racial and economic justice. In this moment, we must do everything possible to fight back,” Tlaib said on Twitter.

In a separate tweet, she said, “Not backing down. We need to move with urgency. Our residents deserve us to do everything possible to fight back. You can always count on me on the House floor and in the streets when it comes to protecting reproductive freedom.”

Protesters marched in support of reproductive rights a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. The decision declared that the constitutional right to an abortion, upheld for nearly 50 years, no longer exists.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect abortion rights—even if it means getting arrested. I joined my Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues in a civil disobedience action outside the Supreme Court. We won’t go back,” Levin said on Twitter.

A push to add a proposal to the November ballot on the right to an abortion in Michigan submitted a record-breaking number of signatures earlier this month.

Reproductive Freedom for All would amend the Michigan constitution to affirm “that every person has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which involves the right to make and carry out decisions without political interference about all matters relating to pregnancy, including birth control, abortion, prenatal care, and childbirth.”