U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday she was grateful abortion was an option when she was raped in New York City a decade ago.
“I myself, when I was about 22 or 23 years old, was raped while I was living here in New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), told attendees at a pro-abortion rally at New York’s City Union Square Park, Business Insider reported.
“When I sat there waiting for what the result would be, all I could think was, “Thank God I have, at least, a choice. Thank God I could, at least, have the freedom to choose my destiny.”
The test eventually came back negative, she said.
“But it doesn’t matter,” she added. “It doesn’t matter and that this is for all of us. This is not a women’s rights issue. This is an issue for all of us.”
The remarks were made the same day the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision that upheld it, in a historic yet anticipated reversal.
The right to an abortion is now left to individual states.