Marchers will go from Florida People’s Advocacy
Center to and around State Capitol ahead of floor vote
Advocates for bodily autonomy will travel from across Florida to the State Capitol tomorrow as the House prepares to vote on HB 5, the 15-week abortion ban. The group will depart the Florida People’s Advocacy Center at 1:30 and march to the Capitol building. If HB 5 passes, Florida will become the first state to ban abortion in 2022.
“Banning abortion denies a person the fundamental right to control their own body and health care decisions,” said Laura Goodhue, Executive Director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “People in many different circumstances need access to abortion, and no one should make those personal decisions for someone else — especially not politicians.”
Right now, given a lack of providers and often insurmountable, unnecessary abortion restrictions in surrounding states, Florida acts as a crucial access point for people seeking abortion in the Southeast. If Florida’s 15-week abortion ban is passed, patients from Georgia and Alabama, who would otherwise travel to Florida, would face a driving distance increase of more than 1,000%. And, of course, this restriction would directly harm Floridians as well.
WHO: Leaders from Planned Parenthood will be joined by State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) and Floridians opposed to the abortion ban from Tampa Bay, Orlando, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and elsewhere.
WHAT: March to and around the State Capitol in opposition to HB 5, the 15-week abortion ban.
Visuals: In addition to #BansOffOurBodies banners and messaging, the group will be donned in shirts citing Article 1, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution: “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life.”
In the final House committee to hear HB 5, the chair, Rep. Colleen Burton severely limited time for speakers and prohibited them from reading stories from others who could not attend. Despite these restrictions, the committee ended 30 minutes early, effectively cutting off the ability for members of the public to tell their stories directly to lawmakers. Throughout the day we’ll be sharing abortion stories on Twitter using the hashtag #AbortionStoriesForColleen.
WHEN: February 16, 2022, with the march taking place from 1:30-2:00 p.m.
WHERE: The activists will depart from Florida People’s Advocacy Center, 603 N Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32301, and march directly to and around the State Capitol building.
