Orlando rallies for ‘our dreams and freedom’ on International Workers Day
Community organizers from across Florida traveled to join the event’s extensive lineup of speakers and performances, including advocates for reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ rights.
Florida’s six-week abortion ban, signed into law last month has not yet gone into effect, but it looms over the abortion care landscape as nonprofits like the Florida Access Network, Tampa Bay Abortion Fund and Stand With Abortion Now offer financial assistance to help people who are pregnant seek abortion care services.
Angelica Sanchez, a local drag queen and a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, declared from the stage, “Drag is not a crime!” referring to legislation (SB 1438) that aims to crack down on drag performances, under the guise of “protecting” children.
“Community organizers from across Florida traveled to join the event’s extensive lineup of speakers and performances, including advocates for reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ rights.
Florida’s six-week abortion ban, signed into law last month has not yet gone into effect, but it looms over the abortion care landscape as nonprofits like the Florida Access Network, Tampa Bay Abortion Fund and Stand With Abortion Now offer financial assistance to help people who are pregnant seek abortion care services.
Angelica Sanchez, a local drag queen and a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, declared from the stage, “Drag is not a crime!” referring to legislation (SB 1438) that aims to crack down on drag performances, under the guise of “protecting” children.”
‘We will not disappear’: LGBTQ activists rally at Orlando City Hall
Undeterred by April showers, a multiracial group ranging in age, but skewing younger, gathered at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando for a march to City Hall. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of local activist groups, including the Orlando chapter of Food Not Bombs and Stand With Abortion Now, a volunteer abortion clinic escort group, among others.
As activists marched through the streets of downtown, torrents of rain drenched the group. They repeated chants of “Fuck DeSantis,” “Protect trans youth” and “Fuck these fucking fascists — they can kiss our asses,” as several drivers honked their horns in solidarity.
“Undeterred by April showers, a multiracial group ranging in age, but skewing younger, gathered at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando for a march to City Hall. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of local activist groups, including the Orlando chapter of Food Not Bombs and Stand With Abortion Now, a volunteer abortion clinic escort group, among others.
As activists marched through the streets of downtown, torrents of rain drenched the group. They repeated chants of “Fuck DeSantis,” “Protect trans youth” and “Fuck these fucking fascists — they can kiss our asses,” as several drivers honked their horns in solidarity.”
Orlando abortion clinic escorts stand guard as Florida's six-week ban looms
With reproductive rights under attack, one volunteer group has committed itself to standing up to anti-choice propaganda outside an Orlando abortion clinic
By McKenna Schueler
“Volunteers with SWAN, or “SWANs,” as they call themselves, act as clinic escorts and clinic defenders. They take on the task of guiding patients to and from the clinic wherever they’re coming from.
Some patients are dropped off for their appointments out front. Some patients park in a lot behind the small building, and some walk up to the clinic from public transit.
The SWANs, often clad in neon pink vests, accompany patients or walk beside them as they approach the clinic, using umbrellas to shield patients’ faces from protesters.
“One of the things that the anti protesters will do is they will take pictures of everyone coming in and out of the clinic,” Tanya, a SWAN volunteer, told Orlando Weekly. Some of the more “prolific” photographers, she added, will post patients’ faces on their “very open, very public” social media.”
swan featured on jessica valenti’s Feminist TikTok Roundup
Featured Video Here
From Valenti:
“I am also such a huge fan of these Orlando clinic defenders. They do an incredible job of distracting the protesters who come to harass women, and this interaction was both bad-ass and heartbreaking. You really can see something shift in this young woman’s eyes as she hears what her ‘pro-life’ cohorts get up to. Shame? Understanding? I don’t know, but I’m glad that she was made to hear it.”
“the wanton cruelty is the point” of florida 6-week abortion ban
SWAN of Central Florida is quoted in response to Ron Desantis and the Florida Republican Party’s disgusting, fascistic power grab and oppression of women and pregnant people in the state.
By Benjamin J. Rizzo, Red Phoenix correspondent, Florida.
A spokesperson for SWAN (Stand With Abortion Now), an Orlando-area clinic defense organization, reacted to the introduction of this measure:
“This bill is likely to pass due to the Republican majority in the Florida legislature. The bill itself is among the most draconian in the nation, outlawing self-managed abortion [pills], an incredibly safe and effective mechanism for terminating a pregnancy. It also makes assisting a person seeking an abortion in-state a crime as well. The bill purports to include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the pregnant person. However, as has been demonstrated time and again, these ‘exceptions’ exist to garner political tolerance for the subjugation of women and others who can become pregnant, not out of any practical purpose. Exceptions in all instances remain nearly impossible to obtain. Every sponsor and supporter of this ban understands that and does not care. Like so many of the things Florida Republicans and ex-Gitmo torturer Ron DeSantis propose and pass, the wanton cruelty is the point.
“However, SWAN remains committed to being on the ground and fighting for reproductive healthcare access for all Floridians, particularly the population we serve in Central Florida. At our core we are an anti-fascist organization, and while we don’t expect our task to be easy, we do intend to take on the growing fascism of Ron DeSantis and his cronies to the best of our abilities. We will need assistance and solidarity from groups across the nation and globe, some of which we’ve already been able to accumulate, harness, and direct toward providing care and protection for our community. We will need support and understanding from all people who seek to end oppression as we continue our essential work.
“Ron DeSantis can and will remain a cretinous human being, a wretched pox on the history of this state and of humanity. He can and will continue to push for the eradication of equality, kindness, and community across the state. SWAN volunteers face disgusting Christofascists outside of our clinics nearly daily. As such, we remain unwavering in our support for abortion rights. We are committed to the fight until the very end — and after — for ourselves, our communities, and our freedoms.”
SWANs Protect abortion rights by all means necessary
The Red Phoenix covered SWAN’s action on abortion rights in Central Florida.
By Ben Rizzo, Red Phoenix correspondent, Florida.
Long-established rights to abortion and reproductive healthcare are under attack as never before in America. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision of June 2022, which overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had established a right to the safe, legal termination of a pregnancy, has left it up to the states to pass any abortion restrictions they see fit. Many states with governments dominated by right-wing, Christian fundamentalists — emboldened that a shift in the court’s composition to a two-thirds conservative majority (thanks to three justices appointed by Donald Trump) would eventually lead to the destruction of abortion rights — had already passed a flurry of new laws greatly restricting access to the procedure. Among these were Florida, where during the Spring 2022 legislative session, the Republican majority easily enacted a measure, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that limited almost all abortions after 15 weeks.
Now in a post-Dobbs world, Florida’s leaders are ready to double down on their efforts to control people’s wombs. Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) has said that she would like to see the abortion limit lowered to 12 weeks during this year’s legislative session, which begins March 7. In addition, DeSantis has already indicated an eagerness to sign a so-called heartbeat bill that would ban abortion after six weeks (which is sooner than many people realize that they’re pregnant). “I’m willing to sign great life legislation. That’s what I’ve always said I would do,” proclaimed DeSantis at a press conference when asked if he would support such a measure. Abortion rights in Florida seem to be careening toward obsolescence at the same time that people from neighboring states with more restrictive laws flock to Florida for terminations. In response, in recent months there has been an upsurge in clinic defense activity meant to ensure that reproductive rights can be accessed without the harassment and danger posed by the anti-abortion fanatics who often surround clinics.
One example of a group in Central Florida that has stepped up to fill that security breach through clinic defense is SWAN — Stand With Abortion Now — a name inspired by the beautiful swans found in Orlando’s Lake Eola Park. Recently, the Red Phoenix spoke with organizers from SWAN to learn about their activities and goals. That interview can be found below. In some cases, the responses may be from more than one member of group, in which case their first initial has been used before their response.
The Red Phoenix: What does SWAN stand for?
SWAN: Stand With Abortion Now
RP: How long has it been in existence?
SWAN: Since June of 2022
RP: What was the impetus behind its formation?
SWAN: The overturn of Roe v. Wade was the main reason for the formation of SWAN.
RP: What activities is it engaged in?
SWAN: [Our group] primarily functions as a clinic escort and defense group. SWAN’s main focus is to protect our clinics’ patients and staff from harassment and invasion of privacy from right-wing, Christian nationalist protesters who yell, lie, and film outside of the facility. However, we also provide resources to the unhoused community that continues to grow in the surrounding downtown community. We’ve also just recently obtained Narcan [Naloxone] to provide overdose reversal assistance to anyone in the area who may be at risk. First and foremost we are an abortion rights advocacy group.