Yahoo Finance Busy Philipps Arrested for Protesting Outside Supreme Court After Roe v. Wade Ruling
Al Drago/getty
Busy Philipps has had a brush with the law in her fight for reproductive rights.
The Cougar Town alum, 43, was arrested on Thursday for blocking traffic outside the United States Supreme Court with a group of Planned Parenthood leaders and activists a week after the SCOTUS decision to overturn 1973's Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.
The United States Capitol Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
In a video posted by Vice News, Philipps was seen wearing a crop top printed with "I WILL AID AND ABET ABORTION" while being escorted away by officers. When questioned by a reporter, the actress said she got arrested "for equality."
Philipps also shared photos and video from the demonstration and her subsequent arrest on Instagram.
In her lengthy post, she wrote that she "was proud to stand today" alongside her fellow protesters, which included the Working Family's Party, Poor People's Campaign, Catholics for Choice, The National Council of Jewish Women, mi Familia Vota, the Center For Popular Democracy Action and NARAL for the sit-in.
.@BusyPhilipps was arrested at a protest in front of the Supreme Court today, and tells VICE News that she's getting arrested for "equality." pic.twitter.com/MOm6ZyY6Cl
— VICE News (@VICENews) June 30, 2022
RELATED: President Biden Calls on Congress to End Filibuster and Codify Roe v. Wade Into Law
Philipps described the demonstration as "an action of peaceful civil disobedience to let lawmakers but more importantly, the people who will be most impacted by this outrageous decision, know that we will not back down, we will not give in and we will not stop fighting until there is equality for all Americans."
"I can think of no better way to use my privilege and voice than to amplify the message that bodily autonomy IS a human right, as it is ACTUALLY the exact same thing as the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," she added. "We must ensure that it applies to all of us. This is the fight of a lifetime, y'all. It's not gonna be short, easy or without setbacks. But we must MUST MUST keep showing up and taking action. *YOU* must. I promise I will."
Philipps, who has been open about her own abortion at age 15, told her 2.3 million followers in a video on her Instagram Story: "I'm doing this for you guys. I'm doing this for my kids, I'm doing this for my mom, I'm doing this for my grandma."
Also arrested at the demonstration was Orange Is the New Black actress Alysia Reiner, whose rep did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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The protest came as President Joe Biden doubled down on his pro-choice support, announcing from a press conference in Madrid that he will have news to share after meeting with some governors on Friday.
"The most important thing to be clear about is I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law," he said firmly. "The way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that, and if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights – it should be [that] we provide an exception to this … requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision."
RELATED VIDEO: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Eliminating the Constitutional Right to Abortion
Last Friday's 6-to-3 ruling reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, giving states the power to pass their own laws around abortion. Since the decision, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and South Dakota have already banned abortion in their states, after putting "trigger bans" in place that governors enacted after the SCOTUS ruling.
Protests have since erupted around the country, and Biden, 79, has spoken out against the ruling, which he called the "realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court."
The decision comes after the SCOTUS opinion was leaked to Politico last month. A poll conducted by CNN has since found that 66 percent of Americans did not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned.
