By Kirk A. Bado
The Tennessean, July 18, 2017
Dr. Carol Paris, one of several protesters who disrupted President Donald Trump’s Nashville rally in March, was arrested by in Washington, D.C., on Monday for protesting the Republican health care plan.
“I can’t seem to stay out of trouble for long,” she said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Paris is the current president of the national organization Physicians for a National Health Program and is on the steering committee of Health Over Profit for Everyone.
On Monday, she led a crowd of demonstrators in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office, decrying the Republican health care plan and imploring Congress to expand Medicare to all citizens.
“I want you to know that doctors are not in favor of this bill. I need your support for this solution, and that is improved Medicare for all!” she said to applause from dozens of supporters.
Holding a similar small green sign she brandished during the Trump rally reading “Improved Medicare for All,” Paris led chants proclaiming health care is a human right, and demanding Congress stop the Republican plan.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the Republican plan would leave 22 million Americans uninsured.
After about 25 minutes in the atrium, Capitol police removed Paris and several other demonstrators. Wearing her white lab coat and hands restrained behind her back, Paris was escorted out of the building.
“We knew we would be arrested,” she said. “We met with a lawyer and were ready.”
Unlike in Nashville when she was simply told to leave the facility, the Tennessee physician was processed by the police. She paid the $50 fine to have her case resolved through the “post and forfeit” method.
The Republican health care plan seems to have stalled in the Senate, after several key Senators came out against the bill. On Wednesday, Paris plans to help lead a health care town hall before helping participants meet with Senators.
Now, Paris wants to urge Congress to keep the framework of the Affordable Care Act viable through the government sponsored subsides. Trump has threatened to cut off those funds in a message posted on Twitter Tuesday morning.
“The message is that we are not going away and you are energizing us,” said Paris.