Protesters Disheartened and Disbelieving at an Abortion-Rights Rally in St. Pete: ‘Florida Is Gone’

Two months after a proposal to repeal Florida’s six-week abortion law and enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution failed to gather the 60% required for passage, more than 100 people gathered Wednesday on four street corners in downtown St. Petersburg to advocate for the cause.

The late morning event took place under what for Floridians was considered frigid weather conditions (the temperature was in the low 40s) on the 52nd anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enshrined a federal right to an abortion — a right removed by the high court in 2022’s Dobbs decision and given back to the states to decide.




“We’re very disheartened with the defeat of the ballot measure but we know that doesn’t change the fact that Floridians still need abortion care,” said Amy Weintraub of Pinellas NOW (National Organization for Women). “Women are accessing abortion with the help of the providers that are still open and providing service up until six weeks of pregnancy.”

Bree Wallace is director for case management with the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund, which provides financial assistance and logistical support for patients seeking abortions.

“I don’t think that we’re going to get back abortion rights for a while in Florida,” she acknowledged. “I think that we went even more red in this [past] election and [state Republicans] just have a lot of power right now. And it doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot of power too, but we have to use it in the moment at least in more community ways.”

“Florida is gone,” said Linda Darin, treasurer for Pinellas NOW, in describing the state of politics in the Sunshine State in 2025. “I’m from Detroit originally, and when I moved here at least Florida was semi-purple. It’s gone now. And you know we had a meeting the night after the election where we had about 20 women there, and we’re just all looking at each other saying, ‘What happened to this country? Something is wrong here.’”

Following the 1973 Roe decision, Florida’s abortion rights laws were further boosted by a 1989 Florida Supreme Court ruling holding that a 1980 constitutional amendment that added the right to privacy to the state Constitution included a right to an abortion before viability. Then, in 2022, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a 15-week abortion ban just months before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe. The Legislature and the governor went even further in 2023, approving the six-week abortion ban.




In April 2024, the Florida Supreme Court voted to overrule its 1989 precedent, upholding the 15-week ban. Thirty days later, the six-week law went into effect.

Amendment 4

Abortion rights activists spent more than $100 million on a 2024 constitutional amendment (Amendment 4) to restore a woman’s right to an abortion up until the time of viability, estimated to be around 24 weeks. The measure received strong support from the public, getting 57% of the vote, but short of the 60% threshold required for passage.

Drea Thew, of Gulfport, said she felt “devastated” after Amendment 4 failed at the ballot box, but she says she’s not giving up the fight. But she acknowledged that she doesn’t see any legislative or initiative process on the horizon.

“I knew that [Yes on 4] movement spent a very large amount of money. Tons and tons of money to do this. We weren’t able to do this because of suppression, oppression, and lies by the [DeSantis] administration and the legislators. So, if we didn’t do it then, I’m not sure it’s going to happen again. And now DeSantis is back with the legislators to make the citizen’s initiative process even harder for the citizens of this state to make their voices heard. So, I’m not that hopeful.”

Weintraub recently stepped down as reproductive rights program director for Progress Florida after leading that group’s efforts in the Yes on 4 campaign. She’s not sure there will be a similar effort anytime soon.

“It was a tremendous amount of energy that was poured into that effort,” she recounted. “I dedicated a year-and-a-half, maybe two years of my life into that, and many, many other repro leaders did too. And we raised an unprecedented amount of money – more than $100 million dollars. We did get a strong majority, 57%, but it just wasn’t enough to get that inflated requirement. So, it’s unclear to me what the movement will do, but I’m skeptical that will happen anytime soon.”

Scott Mahurin, president of Florida Preborn Rescue, told the Phoenix the pro-life movement in Florida is excited and motivated.




“We are emboldened — not only by the Trump victory but the defeat of Amendment 4 last November,” he said. “We must protect the preborn of Florida from destruction and discrimination. Much work remains to be done, but it is easier to have a national administration that is not fighting us every step of the way.”

Web purge

Among the moves the Trump administration has performed this week on abortion was removing a government website focused on reproductive health called reproductiverights.gov. It was launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 as a part of a public awareness campaign to safeguard information on rights to access reproductive care, as well as provide details on what health insurance is required to cover and where to go if one needed health insurance.

It also shared details on how to access birth control and abortion care and offered a list of other services covered by most insurance plans, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, and HIV screenings, according to USA Today.

Trump himself called the Florida six-week ban “too short” last August but, after drawing heat he reversed himself a day later and said he would oppose Amendment 4. The president said earlier in the campaign that he wanted to allow the states, and not the federal government, to pass any such laws.

St. Petersburg resident Peggy McCloud believes Trump will stay out of the issue.

“I think he will because he understands political expediency,” she said, adding, “I don’t think that he’ll mess with it.”




DeSantis spent much of 2024 on the campaign trail denouncing Amendment 4 (as well as Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational cannabis), including spending public funding to make sure the measure failed to get the 60%.

He’s now being feted by anti-abortion groups. On Friday he is scheduled to receive a “National Pro-Life Recognition Award” from Priests for Life, a Florida group, during the National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C., along with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, all of whom helped defeat abortion measures in their states last year.

“No matter the outcome, the work that was done in these battles to educate and mobilize our fellow citizens has lasting value,” said Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone in a press release. “We will celebrate the victories and we will commit ourselves to undo the amendments that unfortunately did pass. They will not stand.”

‘I’m hopeful’

Orlando Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who worked at Planned Parenthood for six years, said in a statement Wednesday that the fact that 57% of Floridians voted to repeal the six-week law last November sent “a clear message: Floridians oppose abortion bans.”

“Across the state, people are stepping up — supporting abortion funds, volunteering, and fighting to protect the right to decide when or if to start a family,” she said.

“Access to abortion care should not depend on who you are, where you live, or how much money you make. Together, as a powerful majority, we will fight for a future where every person has the freedom to make decisions about their body and life. The road ahead will not be easy, but our cause is just, and we will not back down.”

“I’m hopeful,” said St. Petersburg resident Joy Williams at the rally. “What are we going to do? We can’t go back. … I would be happy to put these signs down and not have to be out here anymore. But it appears that we go forward, and then we go back.”