Tamayo: Time for Florida voters to take back their abortion rights | Opinion
We are approaching the second anniversary of Roe v Wade's overturn, a grim reminder of the Supreme Court’s callous overturning of a recognized federal right to abortion. For almost 50 years, the Supreme Court respected the fundamental principle protecting a person’s right to make their own medical decision, including the decision to have an abortion. In June 2022, the Supreme Court’s Justice Alito and four other conservative judges shattered the time-honored precedent, shifting the power to the states to regulate aspects of abortion.
No surprise to many of us, less than 18 months later, 21 states either have banned abortion or restricted the procedure. Anti-abortion state legislators across the country moved with lightning speed to pass bans, heartlessly uncaring as to who and which people were most impacted. Florida followed suit in the 2023 legislative session, passing a near total abortion six-week ban. It didn’t matter that Floridians like Deborah Dorberts', and countless others' heartbreaking stories dominated headlines showcasing the cruelty of these bans, as women’s lives were placed at risk or parents were forced to carry devastating pregnancies to full term.
More from Lillian Tamayo: Lillian Tamayo: Abortion ruling requires us to vote for our freedom
As of today, abortion remains legal in Florida, as we await a Supreme Court decision to determine if the six-week ban will take effect or not. Polls have repeatedly indicated the majority of Floridians favor the right to make their own personal decision regarding their care – whether it’s a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent. Abortion is personal, not political. Floridians Protecting Freedom coalition, the statewide organization leading the campaign to place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot, has secured more than the 891,523 validated signatures required to allow voters an opportunity to shape their destinies. The prospect of Florida overturning Republican efforts to gut abortion access at the ballot box has the administration running scared. Florida Attorney General Moody, with hopes to derail the ballot process, submitted a brief declaring Floridians will be “confused” by the ballot language.
What Floridians are not “confused” about is that the DeSantis administration and the tone-deaf Florida legislature will do anything to block the will of voters. Whether it is so-called voter reform, gerrymandered districts, or stacking the Florida Supreme Court with anti-abortion judges, Florida’s state leadership is unrelenting in their attacks on Florida’s long-established constitutional precedence regarding bodily autonomy.
As we await the Florida Supreme Court’s decisions on both the abortion bans and the abortion constitutional amendment language, the 80 organization-strong Floridians for Reproductive Freedom coalition doubled down on their commitment to promote and support abortion access for all those in need of care. Florida’s abortion clinics and abortion funds will continue providing care as well as help with resources and practical support, including travel, lodging and childcare. Online resources like Charley (http://www.chatwithcharley.org/) and Plan C (http://www.plancpills.org) are secure and confidential resources for people seeking to obtain abortion pills by mail.
More from Lillian Tamayo: Ohio's clear message: Abortion choice is ours to make, not politicians' | Commentary
There is no sugar-coating that dismantling Roe was a devastating decision with profound repercussions impacting fundamental human rights and public health outcomes across the country. And its reversal accelerated the brimming outrage of voters, translating their disapproval at the ballot box. Cruel abortion restrictions and years of governmental intrusion into what is clearly a personal medical decision fuels a growing trajectory of abortion rights support across Florida and the nation.
Take note, Florida, there is a new mantra: “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
Lillian Tamayo, a member of the Palm Beach Post Editorial Advisory Board, previously was President/CEO at Planned Parenthood South, East and North Florida.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida voters cannot accept six-week abortion ban
