JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This evening in Downtown Jacksonville at the Duval County Courthouse, The Women’s March Jacksonville hosted the Rally to Save Roe.
This comes about 48 hours after a draft opinion from the Supreme Court was leaked, signaling that the highest court in the land could strike down the landmark decision, Roe v. Wade.
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The organization was joined by several people and other groups supporting women’s reproductive rights.
They gathered to speak out against the possibility of more restrictive abortion laws nationwide.
This is not a movement exclusive to Jacksonville, as protests have been happening across the country.
Action News Jax’s Courtney Cole spoke to Women’s March Jacksonville and Florida Voice for the Unborn, who explained that they have plans to effect change beyond having boots on the ground.
Across the nation, people on both sides of the abortion debate may agree on one thing— that change starts on the ground but ends up at the ballot box.
“What frustrates me the most, is that because the Supreme Court is making this decision to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, a lot of us — and a lot of what we’re hearing in the community — is we feel helpless right now,” said Amber Wilson.
Wilson is with The Women’s March Jacksonville, a woman’s advocacy group.
Although the Supreme Court opinion leaked late Monday night was just a draft, Wilson said it’s a substantial threat to women’s reproductive rights that needs to be taken seriously.
“As far as the rally tonight, we really just want to focus on organizing and channeling everyone’s anger into something productive and something organized. Because we can get a lot more done when we’re unified,” Wilson said.
Andrew Shirvell, with Florida Voice for the Unborn, is taking a different approach.
“We focus on the public policy aspect. I think that something has really been lacking here in Florida. We have a lot of groups that focus on the elections, and yes, they are very important. But if at the end of the day, officials don’t do what they promised in those political campaigns, then it’s all meaningless,” Shirvell said.
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Although his organization is based in Tallahassee, Shirvell said they’re calling on people across the state of Florida to contact their representatives now.
“The governor and his key advisers need to hear from ordinary people throughout the state, saying that we want to abolish abortion here in Florida,” Shirvell said.
The votes and language could still change before the final decision, which is expected in June.
But these organizations are not waiting until then to try and effect change.
“And as we can see now, these people that we may not have voted for directly, are now making decisions that will affect all of us. It’s important to pay attention,” said Wilson.
“We need to continue to be vigilant. But at the same time, we need to continue to press our elected officials here in Florida to act, to save our unborn brothers and sisters,” Shirvell said.
As we continue to monitor the latest developments, one thing is clear: this is a conversation that will continue for weeks and months to come.
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