- December 26, 2024
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“My body, my choice!” rang out on the megaphone as protestors participated in a collaborative chant with event organizer Celina Cormier.
The protest was organized by the Ormond Beach resident in response to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Cormier said. “It’s scary.The only thing we can do is show everybody that they are not alone. Give everybody a voice to be heard. Women have been fighting for this for centuries, and we are going to have to keep fighting. I’m okay with that.”
Speakers used the event as a platform to voice their concerns and to support one another in the fight for women’s rights.
Flagler Beach resident Erica Rivera spoke to the crowd about the impact the decision will have on women’s healthcare beyond abortion. From a sexual health educator and victims’ advocate standpoint, she expressed concern regarding the effect it could have on women who experience miscarriages and the psychological effect it could have on women that no longer have access to abortion or medications and procedures used for underlying medical conditions.
“People are focusing on abortion when it’s going to impact healthcare overall,” she said. “There are marginalized women who may not be able to afford crossing borders to get an abortion, which can result in higher risk for them as far as maternal mortality rates.”
Seventeen-year-old Adams Charles Evans and his mother, Mandy Evans, were a united front at the protest. The teen credits his mother’s support for his passion to fight for human rights. He said he is appalled by the lack of equality afforded women. The Evans both believe that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will affect everyone.
“I am so proud of him,” she said. “It’s a shame that I am going to have more rights in my lifetime than my grandchildren and my great grandchildren.”