Pro-choice activists plan to rally in downtown Gainesville to counter Roe v. Wade reversal
Abortion rights supporters are holding a rally on Saturday in response to a leaked draft Supreme Court majority opinion that’s poised to strike down Roe v. Wade. The event will begin at Bo Diddley Plaza at 10 a.m. where participants will then march to a rallying point at Cora P. Roberson Park on SW 6th St. in Gainesville.
Planned Parenthood is promoting the campaign “Bans off our Bodies” to protest the possible overturning of the historic court ruling. Protests are scheduled for around the state this weekend.
Earlier this month, Politico published a leaked draft Supreme Court majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that nullifies a nearly 50-year-old precedent established by Roe v. Wade.
“It’s absolutely terrible," said Riley Moon, a UF political science major and member of Planned Parenthood. "We’re going to see a lot of human rights going right out of the window, things that we worked really long and really hard to do because of something that’s political. It's not even about the morals of it.”
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The drafted 98-page document written by Justice Samuel Alito calls the original Roe v. Wade decision "egregiously wrong from the start." It further states that "its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences."
Abortion legal in Florida with strict conditions
Florida remains a state where abortion is legal, but strict rules are in place. Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a 15-week abortion ban that is scheduled to effect in July. On Tuesday, he called the Supreme Court leak inappropriate and suggested it possibly was done to bully judges into reversing their latest decision.
Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe said last week that the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade is "alarming" and an "erosion of women's access to basic healthcare." He said when he first heard the news of the possible reversal, it was like being hit by a thunderbolt.
"I was thrilled to see our community show up and defend some basic human rights like we always do, there are no days off," Poe said in response to a protest that took place in front of the Judge Stephen P. Mickle Sr. Courthouse on May 3. "I think most of our neighbors here in Gainesville are just devastated by what might happen (which) is stripping women's basic rights to healthcare."
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville to join in statewide rally against Roe v. Wade reversal
