Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) shared a powerful story about her feelings toward abortion during a protest over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood on Friday.
Ocasio-Cortez, who made an appearance in New York City’s Washington Square Park, told abortion rights protesters that they need to be “relentless” to restore legalized abortion in the U.S.
The congresswoman thanked women for sharing stories about abortions at the demonstration and decided to share her story about a time she may have needed an abortion.
Ocasio-Cortez, who previously worked at a coffee shop in New York City, said there was a free family health center near her workplace and she supported friends — including sexual assault survivors — by bringing them to the center when they needed care.
She later shared a memory about the time she wondered whether she needed an abortion at 22 or 23 years old.
″[I] was raped while I was living here in New York City, I was completely alone…” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“In fact I felt so alone I had to take a pregnancy test at a public bathroom in Midtown Manhattan and when I sat there waiting for what the result would be, all I could think was ‘thank God I have at least a choice.’”
The congresswoman has spoke out on abortion rights in the past including in 2021 when she told GOP politicians they were “attempting to legislate reproductive systems that they know nothing about.”
You can watch the congresswoman’s recent address to New York City protesters below.