Anti-life protesters in downtown Fort Lauderdale rally for statewide heartbeat law

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida. (WSVN) — Dozens of demonstrators gathered for a pro-abortion rally in downtown Fort Lauderdale, urging state legislators to pass legislation that would make it harder for Florida women to have an abortion.

7News cameras captured demonstrators chanting and holding signs as they lined the sidewalk outside the US Federal Building on Saturday afternoon.

The event was one of several rallies held across the country this weekend in support of abortion restrictions ahead of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.

Participants in Fort Lauderdale expressed their support for a state law, nicknamed the “heartbeat law”, that would prevent abortions after an ultrasound detects a heartbeat.

The author of similar bills passed in 14 states wants Florida to be next.

“The time to speak, the time to march, the time to wait is over,” said Janet Porter, founder and president of Faith2Action. “We have a Republican supermajority and it’s time for them to really put their faith into practice. Instead of using children to elect, we need them to use their choices to save children. That very moment.”

Critics of these bills argue that the embryo does not have a developed heart at the sixth week of pregnancy, and calling it a “heartbeat” is medically incorrect.

Saturday’s rally took place the day after the 50th annual March for Life in Washington, DC.

“We will abolish abortion,” the demonstrators chanted during the march.

Friday’s march marked the first anti-abortion rally since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade’s ruling that stripped the constitutional right to abortion.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, said on her website, “This year will be a grim reminder of the millions of lives lost due to abortion over the past 50 years, and a celebration of how far we’ve come.”

Not everyone has the same point of view.

“Catholic Ireland gives women more reproductive health rights than some parts of America,” Health and Human Services Minister Xavier Becerra said. “It’s just weird to say that America is moving backward instead of moving forward.”

Months after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark decision, some say the issues needing attention are changing.

“What happens when these unwanted babies are born? Who will take care of them?” said US Rep. Nancy Mays, RS.C. “We need future-oriented ideas that take ideas from both sides of the aisle because this problem is not going away. It affects women every single day.”

To mark the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to arrive in Tallahassee on Sunday to give a speech.

A senior White House official said Harris will talk about the Biden administration’s commitment to access to abortion and try to make the case for national legislation to protect reproductive rights.

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