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Women’s March Jacksonville to hold abortion rally downtown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two Jacksonville groups will hold a rally downtown this weekend in response to the draft opinion by the Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“The Supreme Court is making its official decision on abortion rights in June and the consequences of this decision will directly impact our local community,” Florida Access Network (FAN) and Women’s March Jacksonville (WMJ) wrote in a joint statement. “26 states, many in the South, could move to ban abortion, meaning millions of people could live without local access to abortion care.”

The rally is planned for Saturday, May 14, at the Duval County Courthouse on W. Adams Street. The event starts at noon.

Organizers say the rally is a message to leaders that people “deserve the power and freedom to make their own personal reproductive health care decisions.”

According to its website, FAN, formerly the Central Florida Women’s Emergency Fund, has been advocating for reproductive freedom since 1996. WMJ is a women-led, nonpartisan organization that works to protect and advance the rights of women.

The Supreme Court is set to gather Thursday for the first time since the disclosure that it voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade, and there’s no sign that the court is changing course from issuing that ruling by the end of June, Politico reported.

Samantha Mathers

Samantha Mathers, Action News Jax

Samantha Mathers is a digital reporter and content creator for Action News Jax.