Advocates on both sides of abortion issue rallied in South Florida over the weekend
MIAMI - Cheers and applause echoed from the front steps of the Miami-Dade courthouse on Flagler Street Sunday afternoon, as dozens of abortion rights advocates rallied on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
"As a woman, no man should be able to tell me what to do with my body, that's a choice, that is a God given choice and I should be able to exercise that choice at any time," said Cortes James, president of Women's March Florida.
"A generation of Americans dedicated their lives to the fight to preserve women and girls' fundamental freedom to make safe, informed health decisions about their own bodies. Today, I renew the call for Congress to do what is right and codify those freedoms into law, helping to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have the same basic rights that their mothers and grandmothers held for nearly 50 years," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a statement.
But for many states across the country, including Florida, the choice of abortion is limited or non-existent.
Back in June, the Supreme Court overturned the federal ruling of Roe v. Wade, giving the power to the states.
For abortion advocates, the 50-year mark of the decision is about restoring it and battling legislation that limits abortion access.
"This issue is about so much more than reproductive healthcare. It is about our personal freedoms, our privacy, our right for bodily autonomy, and the government can't overreach and erase these rights that we have, so we're getting ready to take the fight to them," said Kat Duesterhaus, an organizer for Bans Off Miami.
But opponents of abortion believe the recent Supreme Court decision is a move in the right direction and they're hoping for stricter laws on abortion bans in the state of Florida.
"Fifteen weeks is just too far, I mean, that child in the womb is moving around, sucking his thumb, and that child, it's alive, right? So, we want to push that back to a six-week ban and we have a supermajority in the legislature and our governor is pro-life so we believe we can get that six-week ban passed," said Tewannah Aman, Executive Director for Broward Right to Life.
Saturday, Aman and dozens of other abortion opponents held their own rally in Fort Lauderdale, rallying for lawmakers to pass the heartbeat bill, a bill that would prohibit abortion in cases where a fetal heartbeat is detected.
But abortion advocates are calling for supporters to join together in hopes of expanding abortion access across the state.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Tallahassee Sunday afternoon and mentioned how Florida's stance on abortion limits the freedoms of women in the state. Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Florida put out a statement condemning what they say is the Democrats' "barbaric policies to allow unrestricted abortions."