Pro-choice activists push back as Manatee County begins to pursue local abortion ban
A group of pro-choice activists rallied outside the Manatee County Administration Building on Tuesday to denounce a county commissioner’s plans to pursue restrictions on local abortions.
In June, County Commissioner James Satcher suggested following in the steps of Texas legislators, who enacted bans on abortion services earlier this year. Manatee commissioners have not voted on a plan, but activists are already resisting.
On Tuesday morning, around 40 protestors reacted loudly. As they shouted through megaphones and waved picket signs along Manatee Avenue in downtown Bradenton, they urged local leaders to reverse course.
“They say no choice, we say pro-choice,” organizers chanted. “Women aren’t breeders. Women aren’t slaves. Pro-life policies dig our graves.”
No commissioner expressed opposition to the idea when Satcher asked the County Attorney’s Office to begin researching the issue. Since then, at least one commissioner has distanced himself from the idea.
“Where I am right now, I think I would have a problem — and I think every man in here probably would have a problem if we had a woman having a conversation about our prostate cancer or our erectile dysfunction,” County Commissioner Reggie Bellamy, the only Democrat on the board, said during a June 17 public meeting.
In a previous interview with the Bradenton Herald, Satcher, a conservative Republican, said he felt the decision to pursue an abortion ban would be an “easy ask.”
“For those that say this is going to be a waste, I would say that children’s lives are not a waste. If we’ve got time to save sea turtles, we’ve got time to save babies,” said Satcher, who was elected in November after running on a pro-life platform.
There are no active abortion clinics in Manatee County and the next steps of Satcher’s proposal are unclear. But protestors said they felt it was important to make their voices heard.
Evelyn Borsheim, a 73-year-old resident of East Bradenton, marched in support of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Nearly 50 years later, she’s still fighting for a woman’s right to choose.
“It is so discouraging. It’s unbelievable that we’re here all over again,” Borsheim said. “But I have to do my part, however small that may be.”
State Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, also took part in the protest. She argued that the proposal of an abortion ban was an attempt for commissioners “to score political points.”
“It’s really important for us to be here because I think it’s really easy [for commissioners] to have a myopic view and say, ‘Our view is the only view.’ There’s a lot of folks that don’t agree at all,” said Rayner, whose district includes parts of Manatee County. “I think it’s red meat for their political base.”
An organizer who helped put together the laws in Texas also attended Tuesday’s protest. Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life East Texas, urged commissioners to follow through on a ban. While demonstrators threatened legal action against the proposal, Dickson said he’s been encouraged by legal victories elsewhere.
“If it is their desire to move forward with the consideration of this item, that is their call, of course. This is something we’re seeing cities all across America discuss,” Dickson said. “This is not going to go away anytime soon. We saw quite a bit of success with this in Texas. We’re seeing success in Nebraska and Ohio. This is about to come up in other states.”
Two Bradenton police officers were called to the protest after noise complaints. Standing at a distance, officers did not make direct contact with demonstrators. Speaking with the Bradenton Herald, they said they could not prevent them from protesting outside of a public building.
Demonstrators did clash with Dickson as he filmed their chanting. With megaphones in hand, members of the crowd moved toward Dickson, yelling, “You aren’t welcome here!” until he retreated to the corner of Manatee Avenue and Old Main Street.
Speaking with the Bradenton Herald afterward, he said Tuesday’s crowd of demonstrators was smaller than he expected.
“They’ve been advertising this protest for weeks. There are so few people out here. It reaffirms what I’ve been hearing about support for this ordinance,” Dickson said.
Others were proud of the crowd. Amy Weintraub, reproductive rights program director with Progress Florida, a statewide group that fights for progressive policies, helped organize the protest. She said other demonstrations will come at a later date.
“When the County Commission decided to look into an abortion ban, we could not keep silent,” said Weintraub, 53.
“At the center of it, this is my community. Women have been fighting this for decades. We’re sick and tired of them trying to break that down,” added Carolina Zamora, a 23-year-old West Bradenton resident. “I hope when people hear us, they keep an open mind. It comes down to saving lives for us as well.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 2:03 PM.
