Tallahassee, FL – Around 100 people came out to support a Defend Roe v. Wade protest on May 12 at the Florida Capitol building.

“Abortion is healthcare, and I will always support that constitutional right. I want Tallahassee to know I stand with them on this issue,” said City Commissioner Jack Porter. “Passing a resolution affirming my support for women’s healthcare and reproductive rights in general was a start, but there’s more we can do. We can provide unbiased information about abortion, create a supportive environment for people to make their own healthcare decisions, regulate misleading practices at certain clinics, and provide financial support to low-income residents.”

Speakers addressed the danger that getting rid of Roe v. Wade would have for working-class people, women and trans people in Tallahassee. Most pointed to the fact that banning abortions would increase the danger and lower the living standards of working-class people in Tallahassee, but especially women, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. Speakers brought up the current U.S. shortage of baby formula as especially ironic. Although U.S. politicians claim abortion bans are to save lives, the lack of baby formula – and the lack of actual funding for parental leave in our country – says otherwise.

On the topic of baby formula: “I had to climb the shelves to pick up the last box. We were lucky to obtain that one box, and my nephew is only two months old,” said Asia Reign, a member of Students for a Democratic Society and a speaker at the protest. “And new parents struggle to obtain the things they need to take care of their babies, or to pay rent, or to pay for gas, or food, or clothes. Yet the U.S. government has the time to contemplate our right to abortion. This is an attack on the body autonomy and privacy of people across the gender spectrum. Democrats could codify Roe and stop dangling the carrot in front of our face, but they don’t.”

Chisara Amanze, a future Florida State University student, spoke about the need for abortion access for everyone, stating, “I believe people should have the choice of whether they want to get an abortion. I understand it’s not necessarily something that everyone feels comfortable for doing, but abortion is a human right.”

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