"I was raped while I was living here in New York City."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened up about her personal experience at an abortion rights rally ...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened up about her personal experience at an abortion rights rally ...
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00:00I myself, when I was about 22 or 23 years old, was raped while I was living here in New York City.
00:09I was completely alone. I felt completely alone.
00:15In fact, I felt so alone that I had to take a pregnancy test in a public bathroom in midtown Manhattan.
00:24And when I sat there waiting for what the result would be,
00:30all I could think was, thank God I have at least a choice.
00:37Thank God I could at least have the freedom to choose my destiny.
00:45I didn't know then, as I was waiting, that it would come up negative.
00:51But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.
00:56And that this is for all of us. This is not a women's rights issue.
01:02This is an issue for all of us. For all of us.
01:10We need to center and protect our trans and non-binary siblings and family of the trans
01:18because they are on the front lines.
01:21And men, if your partner had gotten an abortion and it helped your life,
01:26you need to start talking about that too.
01:31Because it takes two to tango here, baby.
01:33We're going to have to strike for our rights.
01:36That means we're going to have to organize. We're going to have to educate.
01:40We're going to have to flood the coffers of abortion funds.
01:43We're going to have to open our apartments and our couches to people who are seeking safe passage.
01:48That is what we're up to right now.
01:51And on the note of voting, when people want to say vote harder, that means primaries too.
01:59Because we cannot have a party that doesn't know how to deal with the present moment anymore.
02:08Not when fascism is just rearing its ugly head in the United States of America.
02:14We can do better everywhere.