Wisconsin Ultrasound Bill Protest Leads To Eight Arrests

Eight Arrested In Wisconsin Ultrasound Bill Protest

Eight people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in Madison, Wis., on Thursday after they tried to deliver coat hangers to the offices of lawmakers who supported a mandatory ultrasound bill.

According to The Capitol Times, about two dozen protesters holding coat hangers were shut out of the offices of three Republican state senators and Gov. Scott Walker (R) -- the most vocal supporters of the recently-passed measure. The coat hangers were intended to signify a time before the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 when women had to resort to unsafe, back-alley abortions because the procedure was illegal.

Walker has said that he will sign the mandatory ultrasound bill, which requires women to undergo either a transabdominal or a more-invasive transvaginal ultrasound procedure whether or not it is deemed medically necessary.

When the lawmakers would not accept the coat hangers, the protesters attempted to march into the Senate chamber, where the state Senate was debating the 2014 budget bill. The group was physically pushed out of the chamber as they chanted, "Focus on jobs, not vaginas," and eight of them were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Peter Adamczak, one of the protesters, spoke to The Capitol Times as the group chanted. “I’m here to stand side by side with women,” he said. “I can’t imagine it is an easy choice for women to decide to have an abortion. It shouldn’t be made invasive by requiring a transvaginal ultrasound."

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