You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

11 Arrested at Pro-Choice Protest as Florida Senate Approves Six-Week Abortion Ban

HeadlineApr 04, 2023

Florida’s Republican-controlled state Senate has approved a near-total ban on abortion. The measure, which is backed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, prohibits abortions in most cases after just six weeks. During a floor debate in Florida’s state Senate Monday, Jacksonville Democrat Tracie Davis condemned the bill as an unprecedented government overreach into the lives of women, and shared her own story of having an abortion.

Sen. Tracie Davis: “I refused to have anyone make me feel ashamed, and to not acknowledge it. And no woman should have to feel ashamed because she decided to have an abortion. But now we’re talking about a six-week abortion ban. And you’ve heard it from many women on this floor: Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant by the time they’re in the sixth week.”

On Monday evening, at least 11 people were arrested at a pro-choice protest that erupted outside Tallahassee’s City Hall. Among those taken into custody were Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and state Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top