LOS ANGELES, CA – Four pro-choice activists have been arrested after chaining themselves to Los Angeles City Hall and dripping fake blood on the steps leading to the city’s halls of power as protesters for abortion rights organized across Los Angeles for the second week in a row.
Los Angeles and the country have seen pro-choice protests nearly every day since the June 24 ruling to overturn the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that protected abortion rights in all 50 states. Following protests in Westlake, Venice, Hollywood, Downtown LA and Long Beach, more protests are planned, including a march for women’s rights on the beach in Santa Monica on Sunday, a protest in Hollywood on Saturday and a protest in Long Beach Thursday.
Tuesday’s arrests of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights activists outside City Hall did little to stem the tide of protests. The four people were arrested on suspicion of non-dispersion and trespassing, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“I think everyone is really angry,” said Devynne Lauchner, who started working with Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights about a month ago. “What I’ve heard from people is that they’re crazy. They’re crazy for not having control over what’s happening not only to their body but also to their life. Really, people, in addition to being really sad, are really That’s definitely the general consensus for people and why they show up.”
Demonstrations in the greater Los Angeles area number in the thousands, including a massive protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 24.
Over the past weekend, protesters marched to the Hollywood and Highland intersection with signs and chants. Protesters marched through downtown Los Angeles and stopped outside a crowded Grand Central Market. Demonstrations in Westlake and Venice were specifically scheduled for July 4 as organizers called for zero spending to boycott the holidays.
“We can’t celebrate Independence Day without bodily empowerment,” the Women’s March Foundation of Los Angeles wrote on Instagram. “We will celebrate the 4th of July when the country does this: codify Roe v. Wade, abolish the filibuster, expand the court.
According to the Pew Research Center, some 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances.
Thirty-seven percent of Americans thought abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances. The findings were based on multiple surveys conducted before the draft advisory leaked, including more than 10,000 American adults.
Learn more about the Pew Research Center methodology here.
“We can’t just be complacent because we’re in a city and state where abortion is safe right now,” Lori Dajose, director of communications for the Democratic Socialists chapter of ABC, told ABC 7. America in Los Angeles.
For her part, Lauchner of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights believes that the ongoing protests are a vital part of the fight to protect reproductive freedom.
“People have power, that’s what I believe,” she said. “That’s what we know from the story.”