February 11, 2022
Guest post by Andy Secola, Students for Life of America Florida Regional Coordinator
GUEST POST: We had about 48 hours notice for the time and location of the hearing. We made a decision as a company that this was important enough to send me on a five hour ride last minute and to mobilize our students. Sometimes, in this fight for life, you’ve got to be a little gritty. My students and I at our Students for life group at Florida State University are glad we followed through.
It was a chilly morning at the Florida State Capitol. That is probably why there were no rallies in the morning. For Floridians, the forties are cold! However, our students were excited to be there so of course we snapped some photos! After signing up to testify and taking our seats, the committee started the process of going through the bills on the agenda. Everyone was anxiously awaiting to hear the HB-5 Bill (a 15-week abortion ban), which was the last one on the agenda. Over 100 people came to testify. The people in support of the pro-life bill, including students, were professional and respectful to the committee and to the rules. When our speaking time limit was up, we politely said, “thank you”, and left the podium to take our seats. The legislators were appreciative of this.
When the abortion advocates came to speak, they acted aggressively and disrespectfully towards the legislators. A few of them were well dressed, but the majority of them were dressed as if going to a punk rock concert. When they stepped up to the podium to speak, they yelled and insulted the legislators for even considering HB-5. They did not respect the time limit. In fact, they kept doing this so much that the sergeant and his security team had to come up multiple times and begin to escort them out before they walked the rest of the way out while still shouting. They even started a chant in the middle of session!
Professionalism and respect go a long way with government officials.
Despite outbursts from opponents of life, this piece of legislation was passed out of committee by a solid vote of 14-7 and is moving forward in the legislative process. We expect Florida to introduce stronger pro-life protections for the preborn, but this is a step toward the goal of protecting life in Florida from the moment of conception. With the majority of preborn children still in danger of abortion violence in Florida, though, we have our pro-life cut out for us. And we are ready to mobilize.
Our students thanked me for encouraging them to come to this event, and they are excited for the next opportunity to get to do this.
Overall, it was a fantastic and successful day.