Despite the overturning of Roe and countless bans on reproductive rights in state legislatures, the fight for abortion access is not over for the South. The Florida Supreme Court announced that the ‘Yes on Four Initiative’ from Floridians Protecting Freedom will be on the ballot for voters this election. 

Unfortunately, the Court also decided to uphold a 15-week abortion ban, allowing the 6-week ban to take effect on May 1 – but this was a blow that many abortion and reproductive advocates and elected officials expected after Oral Arguments last September. 

The Tampa Bay Abortion Fund released a press release saying they anticipate 90 percent or more of their recipients would have their access to abortion care impacted by the ban. Access limitations only continue as abortion funds don’t have enough donations and funding to meet demand, especially since before the ban, Florida was a beacon of abortion access for folks facing restrictions in other states in the Southeast and Deep South.

On April 13, the coalition met at Lake Eola to rally against the near-total abortion ban. Many activists and abortion advocates encouraged supporters and their friends to support and vote for what is now Amendment Four, one of the ballot initiatives that would codify abortion rights in Florida’s Constitution in 2024. While a majority of Americans and Floridians support these rights, getting the amendment to at least 60 percent of the vote will be an uphill battle. Florida has the highest voting threshold to have abortion on the ballot out of all of the past and current abortion initiatives in the nation. 

Stand With Abortion Now of Orlando (SWAN) started as a clinic escort group that evolved into a grassroots organizing group and small abortion fund. When Roe v. Wade vell, Betty, one of SWAN’s earliest members, reached out to Orlando’s abortion clinic to see if they had any escorts to defend patients from harassment from anti-abortion extremists. From there, SWAN built a network of escorts to protect the identity of patients who were being harassed by extremists in the clinic’s driveway. 

SWAN’s advocacy increased, and their presence on TikTok grew. They educated their audience on fake abortion clinics, abortion pills, and anti-abortion laws being passed in Florida. Last year, SWAN spoke in opposition to the near-total abortion ban. During the Oral arguments for the 15-week abortion ban and for Amendment Four, members of SWAN traveled to Tallahassee in opposition to the ban and in support of the amendment. 

In September 2023, the Center of Orlando for Women, the independent clinic that SWAN defends, was slammed with $193,000 in fines from the Agency for Health Care Administration. The reason given was that the clinic did not respect the 24-hour mandatory waiting period to perform an abortion after an ultrasound. This was the largest fine in Florida and they faced the possibility of bankruptcy. 

The Center of Orlando for Women is the only independent abortion clinic in the city limits of Orlando. Independent abortion clinics like this one provide care to 3 out of 5 patients in the United States. While anti-abortion extremists celebrated what they thought would be the clinic’s demise, SWAN came together to raise funds to save the clinic.

“It was this weirdly agreed upon thing that everyone was optimistic that we had the social power to do it even though we’ve never done anything like it before, and none of us had fundraising experience,” said Winnie, a clinic escort for SWAN Orlando.

Through 24-hour TikTok and Instagram lives, SWAN raised $50,000 within the first few days, and the number continually increased as shares created momentum from supporters, communities, and news organizations.

It was small-dollar donations from ordinary people that had a huge impact. “People were commenting that they’re choosing not to get Starbucks or McDonalds that afternoon, so we can say that we helped save an abortion clinic,” Winnie said. 

Winnie credited it to the community they built on TikTok, whose main page had over 300K page followers. Their main page was removed by TikTok, so they were left with their backup account that had almost 174K followers and included many videos sharing the escorts’ interactions with anti-abortion extremists. 

SWAN also prevented the shutdown of three other clinics in Miami facing similar fines by collaborating with the clinics, local organizations, and musicians who also believed in supporting the right to abortion access.

Although the rally this April brought out hundreds of energized people across the Sunshine State, many are still fighting to educate those seeking abortions about the 6-week ban. Winnie feared that with the celebration of the abortion amendment ballot initiative, many wouldn’t pay attention to the harm that would take place with the near-total abortion ban that went into effect this month.

“Honestly, you’re either pro-abortion or you’re not. You can be 25 weeks, 26 weeks, and need abortion care.” Winnie further emphasized that, often, abortions past 24 weeks are wanted pregnancies, which can make it more difficult for travel because of how life-threatening and serious complications can be for the pregnant individual. 

SWAN is helping as many patients as they can who are suffering the 6-week ban. For those turned away from the clinic due to the ban, SWAN will provide information on Plan C so those seeking an abortion can have other options. If worse comes to worst, and their clinic would cease to exist, SWAN says they would be outside of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, handing out information on Plan C.

Meanwhile, SWAN emphasized the importance of pushing voters to make their voices heard on Amendment Four.

“Abortion is a fight. The second you stop fighting for your bodily autonomy, you turn around and lose it. It’s one of those things you have to constantly maintain,” Winnie said.

Whether electorally or in grassroots organizations, advocates prove that you cannot count out the South, and you cannot count out Florida for reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. Between now and November, Florida, Maryland, New York, and potentially eight other states will have the chance to enshrine rights to abortion access thanks to the advocacy of organizers who collected signatures from voters. 

Campaigns for abortion showcase the belief that abortion and bodily autonomy should be in the hands of the people and their providers, not politicians. Yes on Four is giving back hope to Floridians with uteruses and supporters, and Floridians will vote to reclaim their rights and for other people who come from states with restrictive bans. 

To be more involved in the fight for abortion access, make sure to check your voter registration if you are a Floridian so you can vote this November, volunteer with the Yes on Four initiative, and support your abortion funds as they navigate this near-total abortion ban by going to AbortionFunds.org.