ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 100 people packed the Renaissance Theatre Company in Orlando Friday evening for the Emergency Rally for Abortion Access.
Several Central Florida residents protested the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, which declares that abortions are no longer a constitutionally protected right and must be decided by the states.
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After nearly 50 years of precedent, abortion is no longer considered constitutionally protected, and protesters said we are right back where we started.
“We are horrified that we are back into this fight,” Debbie Deland with the Greater Orlando National Organization for Women said.
The fight may be even harder now for minorities.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, abortion bans will exacerbate existing inequities and disproportionately harm people of color and people from low-income backgrounds.
Right now, abortions are legal in Florida. In some states, like Texas, trigger laws will prohibit nearly all abortions. Residents who live in states where abortion is illegal may now have to travel out-of-state for the procedure.
Cierra Rodriguez, a protester at the rally, said that is not financially feasible for everyone.
“Not everyone has the ability to just up and leave and travel to another state on a random day for an abortion,” Rodriguez said.
She said it is unfair to force women who do not have the means to keep a child.
“It’s absolutely horrible because people want to say they’re pro-life and say this is all about raising a child... and being there to support it but you’re really only supporting the pregnancy part, there’s no support after that,” Rodriguez said.
Experts say abortion bans could even lead women to use dangerous methods to induce abortions. Those methods could land them in the hospital or even in jail in some states.