A Democratic Michigan state representative, Laurie Pohutsky, says elected officials need to “stop pretending that this is politics as usual” with President Trump back in the White House. 

As an example, she told anti-Trump protesters at the Michigan Capitol that she took a drastic step to ensure that she would not be bringing children into the world.

During a rally protesting Mr. Trump, Ms. Pohutsky said, “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America.”

“I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate,” she said. “If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization because she was uncertain she would be able to access contraception in the future.”

Her comments were made at a rally that was part of the “50501 Movement,” which organized multiple protests Wednesday at state capitals around the country. The name of the movement comes from its goal of organizing 50 protests in all 50 states on 1 day.

During the campaign, Democrats hoped that the issue of abortion access would help them win the White House and down-ballot races as they said Mr. Trump would implement a nationwide abortion ban. 

Mr. Trump previously said in a post on Truth Social in October he would “not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it.”

He has implemented several policies since January 20 that aim to curb abortion funding, such as his decision to reinstate the so-called Mexico City Policy, which prevents foreign organizations from receiving federal funds and promoting or performing abortions. 

During Mr. Trump’s first term, thousands of demonstrators wore “pussy hats” in the 2017 Women’s March. The practice was later discouraged as organizers of the event acknowledged the concerns women had about abortion access but asked protesters not to wear the hats for the second Women’s March because “not every woman has a vagina, and not every person who has a vagina is a woman.”