Abortion Protest at Supreme Court – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Wild 2 Free
The Sunshine State’s new law that prohibits abortions after the 15-week mark is at the center of a hearing on Monday. A judge from Leon County, Florida will decide on granting a temporary injunction, therefore blocking the law from going into effect on Friday.
Several individuals and groups are planning to organize protests on Monday night in reaction to the shocking Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. It is now up to the states to individually decide their own abortion laws.
People advocated for both sides of the ruling over the weekend. Many were angered and fearful of losing their rights to their bodies while others continue to push for further restrictions on abortion access.
“We will settle for nothing less than the unborn having being declared persons, that they have the rights restored, that the same rights that you and I have,” said one local Central Florida protester.
Others made it clear they are not in favor of overturning the decades-old law.
“Whether that’s who we can marry, whether that’s if we can have children, how many children or whether to decide to have a family at all, these are all personal decisions that should be made by the individual,” said Equality Florida’s Deputy Field Director Yordanos Molla.
Doctors and abortion clinics are challenging the state law in the Tallahassee hearing, citing the Florida constitution’s privacy policy as grounds for their argument.
A total of 79,817 abortions were performed in the last year according to data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The statistics show that the majority of those, approximately 94 percent, occurred during the first trimester through week 11 of pregnancy.
In addition, the numbers point to 119 total abortions due to “life-dangering physical conditions,” 118 due to rape, and eight due to incest.
Some lawmakers, such as State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R- District 32), are working diligently towards a special session for the legislature to pass stricter abortion restrictions, as other states have done.
“We must pass the Heartbeat Bill & other strong pro-life measures to protect Florida’s unborn children,” he wrote on Twitter.
Other pro-choice advocates like State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D- District 47) said, “I find it ironic that despite the fact that Gov. DeSantis wants to run for president in 2024 and has continued to carry anti-abortion tropes throughout his rhetoric and policy agenda, that his statement stops short of saying he would call for a special session to ban abortion or that he would fully support an abortion ban.”
She is one of the organizers of Monday’s rally that is scheduled to happen at Orlando City Hall at 5 p.m.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.