South Florida activists gathered in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Peter Feldman Park on a hot Saturday afternoon in an effort to put the abortion question to the people in 2024.
The new movement, launched by Floridians Protecting Freedom on May 8, is seeking to place a referendum question on the ballot asking voters if they support a constitutional amendment that would allow abortions up to viability, when the fetus would survive outside the womb, typically around 24 to 28 weeks.
In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the six-week abortion ban passed by Florida lawmakers, one of the strictest in the nation. Critics have argued that the ban is too harsh and not representative of what Floridians want. Studies show that around two-thirds of Floridians think abortion should be legal in most cases.
Leaving the abortion issue up to the popular vote, abortion rights activists believe, might be enough to tip the scales in their favor.
“If you look at the stats, the majority of people don’t support banning abortion,” said Kallie Benedict, 25, an organizer for Progress for Southeast Florida who helped lead Saturday’s event.
“We currently are represented by a government that has been very gerrymandered,” added Bryce Hackmeyer, 23, an organizer for Progress for South East Florida and Women’s Voters of Southwest Florida. “Who should be responsible for making decisions about our bodies other than the people?”
A group of around 60 activists from groups including Florida Rising, League of Women Voters, PRISM FL, Florida Student Power Network, and the Progressive Caucus of Broward assembled in the center of the park around 1 p.m., some trying to wave down passersby to fill out forms.
To appear on the ballot, the petition for the referendum must garner close to 900,000 signatures by February 2024. And they must get representation from all 67 of the state’s counties.
“That’s probably our biggest hurdle, especially rural counties,” Hackmeyer said.
They plan to visit each county this summer, knocking on doors.
Broward will play a key role, Hackmeyer said, as one of Florida’s most populated and progressive counties. So far, the organizers have achieved about 1,000 signatures, they said, but that number is rising. Stacks of petitions– numbering around 1,000– and voter registration forms sat, waiting to be filled out, at booths in the park Saturday.
Several people gave speeches, which touched not only on abortion rights but other issues of bodily autonomy, such as trans healthcare.
This week, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning transgender treatment for minors. The bill also makes it more difficult for adults to get treatment.
In a speech, Steven Rocha, 21, who is trans, described no longer having a provider for his medical appointments because he can no longer go to a nurse practitioner.
“This government promised us freedom, and yet they are doing everything in their power to erode the very notion,” Rocha said in an impassioned speech. “Forced pregnancy isn’t freedom. Stripping access to trans healthcare isn’t freedom.”
Afterwards, the group marched to Fort Lauderdale City Hall carrying signs and chanting “Where’s my freedom?” and “My body, my choice.”
In recent weeks, protests against the abortion ban and Gov. DeSantis have resulted in arrests, including of lawmakers themselves like Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book. But Saturday’s event was largely quiet. Several cars honked in support, while one man shouted “Trump 2024” as he walked by during the speeches.
Rocha said he wasn’t scared of potential backlash, but he is worried about what 2024 will bring, especially if people don’t vote.
“I expect a lot of the rhetoric to ramp up,” he said. Many people on the left in Florida are becoming disheartened, he added, thinking their votes don’t matter, but “that’s what they want.”