'Pro-women, pro-child, pro-choice:' Hundreds rally for abortion rights in The Villages
THE VILLAGES — Amid a crowd of around 300 people, seven women garbed in bright red cloaks gathered and marched, heads bowed, around the gazebo in Lake Sumter Landing in The Villages.
Their short, silent walk among slogans and shouts was among the loudest protests at the "Pro-Women, Pro-Child, Pro-Choice" rally held in The Villages on Saturday.
The women were dressed as handmaids, characters drawn from the best-selling book and TV series The Handmaid’s Tale who are ritually raped and forced to carry children.
Such imagery didn't seem out of place to many of those assembled — mostly women — who were appalled that Roe v. Wade looked to be overturned by the current Supreme Court.
"In Florida, we have 'Stand your Ground,' which means if I feel threatened I can shoot you and that'll be fine," said Pat Beerhalter. "You're fine with that because someone can own a gun, but a woman has no purview over her body? She is in essence a vessel?"
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Many feared they could face criminal penalties for procedures that have so far been protected.
"I had to have a D&C when I miscarried at nine weeks," said Nancy Kelly, talking about dilation and curettage, a common procedure used to remove tissue from the uterus. "That's considered an abortion. Why?"
The controversial 1973 decision by the Supreme Court allowed women to choose to terminate a pregnancy, based on a right to privacy. A 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, addressed standards for abortion restrictions. Those decisions seem likely to fall after a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito was recently leaked.
In the draft, Alito writes that “we hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled... It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
A recent news analysis shows that two dozen states would then ban the procedure, based on current and previous laws.
Rally organizer Chris Stanley made clear that abortion was not the main issue.
"Roe v. Wade is not about abortion. This rally is not about abortion, this is about women having autonomy over their bodies," said Stanley, who is president of The Villages Democratic Club.
"When I was a little girl, women had to get permission to get their tubes tied from their husbands. They couldn't get credit cards without their husband's permission. And here we are 50 years later and we are again stripping women of their choices," Stanley said. "This will shock people, but women are equal to men. And we can make up our own minds about what's best for us."
Many people wore shirts and carried signs echoing that sentiment. For many, abortion was a potent symbol of the larger battle over women's control over their own bodies. A woman walked around holding up a simple white cardboard sign with "We won't go back," a metal hanger taped below.
If the event was about something larger than abortion rights to the organizers, it was everything to a sizable group of counter-protesters.
Just to the side of a podium where scheduled speakers addressed the crowd sat more than 30 people chanting Hail Mary and holding signs reading "Abortion kills children" and "Life is an inalienable right." Another group marched around the gazebo, while others stood holding signs behind the main crowd. There was some talk between the two sides, often heated but never violent, but the crowds largely ignored each other.
"I used to be pro-choice," said Bonnie Hampton, one of the counter-protestors at the rally. "Bottom line for me is you have to define what life is, and to me life is at conception. I believe in freedom, but we have to think about the child. A child is a life and they have rights too."
But many took issue with such sentiments.
Beerhalter said few of the counter-protesters had any plans or supported programs for children or people who live in poverty. She said one group, the Susan B. Anthony List, spent more than $40 million to fight abortion rights.
"Forty million dollars would go a little ways to help kids, to help women. And when people are in desperation they need a hand up, they don't need a foot on their neck," said Beerhalter.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Hundreds gather in The Villages for 'Pro-Women, Pro-Child, Pro-Choice' rally
