Protesters were arrested after the Senate released its health care bill

Left Photo via Mariam Khan/Twitter Center, Right Photos via Andrew Desiderio/Twitter

Police forcibly remove protesters from Capitol Hill ‘die-in’ over Senate healthcare bill

Several videos have surfaced online.

 

Andrew Wyrich

IRL

Posted on Jun 22, 2017   Updated on May 23, 2021, 2:11 am CDT

A number of people are being arrested on Capitol Hill as they protest the Senate’s healthcare bill, according to various media reports and eyewitness accounts.

The Senate on Thursday morning released its version of the controversial bill that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that was drafted in secret. The bill would cut funds to Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood for one year, and repeal taxes on wealthy Americans that were used to fund healthcare for less affluent Americans.

Many protesters were disabled and were wheeled out of Congress by police officers. Several protesters are wearing yellow shirts with “My Medicaid Matters” written on them.

The Washington Post reported that protesters were blocking the hallway outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-K.y.) office.

During a live stream of the protests, several of the protesters said they relied on healthcare funding that will be impacted by the new health care bills. One protester said people got out of their wheelchairs and laid down on the ground.

Daily Beast reporter Andrew Desiderio also tweeted several photos and videos from the protest.

In one video, a protester can be heard yelling, “My child is going to die and my family is going to die, and they don’t give a damn about it.”

The protester continues: “They make these decisions for our people behind desks wearing suits, and it’s not fair. My people are going to die because of decisions that that man is making for our society.”

Desiderio also tweeted video of Capitol Police physically removing people from the hallway.

Other journalists also saw people being hoisted by police out of the hallway.

The Senate is expected to vote on the newly unveiled legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as early as next week.

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*First Published: Jun 22, 2017, 12:10 pm CDT