Florida International Women's Day focuses on maternal mortality and healthcare

John Lystad
Staff Writer
Members of the community carried posters and chanted as they marched from the Florida People's Advocacy Center to the Capitol.

Chants of “women’s rights are human rights” and “I am not a host body,” echoed in the streets of downtown Tallahassee this week as hundreds of women from around the country became one collective voice for International Women’s Day.

Activists from around the United States rallied in Florida’s capital this past Thursday, March 7, to show their solidarity with the women’s liberation movement just one day prior to International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day, held annually on March 8, was first officially celebrated by the United Nations in 1975 to raise awareness about women’s rights and commemorate the work of feminist activists who fought for suffrage and equality.

Over 40 years later, however, activists around the country still feel that the work of their predecessors has not reached a conclusion.

“Across the state of Florida, women are under attack: black women are dying at alarming rates, immigrant women are being separated from their children at detention centers, transgender women and indigenous women are disproportionately impacted by violence ...,” said Charo Valero from the Florida Latina Advocacy Network. “Women are the life force of this state and deserve protection and autonomy over their bodies, their homes and their families."

In response, ACLU of Florida, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Planned Parenthood Alliance, FSU Women’s March Youth Empower and more joined together to march in a united front. This coalition of organizations ranging from human rights networks to women’s rights groups demanded  “justice for our families and communities and a more equitable Florida.”

The event was not only marked by International Women’s Day, but also by the first week of the 2019 Florida Legislative Session. The demonstrations began with a march from the Florida People’s Advocacy Center Headquarters to the Florida Capitol, where a press conference was given.

Speeches from both politicians and activists called for the protection of women's rights and equitable treatment of women from traditionally marginalized groups.

“We currently live in a world where we are one of the world’s most prosperous countries, yet more than 700 women die each year due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications,” said Rep. Kamia Brown. “In fact, the U.S. ranks first among all developed countries in maternal deaths, and these rates are continuing to rise.”

Brown went on to explain that the introduction of House Bill 519 (HB 519) would establish the Maternal Mortality Prevention Task Force to advise the Department of Health to mitigate deaths resulting from pregnancy and childbearing.

“Carrying on with business as usual and turning a blind eye to this crisis is unacceptable,” said Brown. “The complications that we continue to encounter from maternal care are in fact preventable, and health facilities must fix how they operate because it clearly is not working for our mothers in Florida.”

The press conference also featured a number of other speakers from Florida political offices, as well as activists from the coalition that organized and participated in the march.

“Each year, 60,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, and the United States has a higher maternal mortality rate than any other developed nation,” said Florida Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson. “How can that be? We are the greatest nation in the world, we should not have women dying in childbirth.”

Speakers also highlighted the racial bias against women of color in relation to maternal death rates and healthcare.

“On average, black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts, regardless of health,” said Gibson. “That is an issue for everyone in this country.”

HB519 — sponsored by Brown, Gibson and others — is being advocated for as a step in the right direction for women’s rights and an essential for the protection and preservation of maternal life throughout the state.

“This is not only a women’s issue, a health issue, it is also a humans rights issue,” Brown said. “Now let us ensure that Florida leads by example, to do everything possible to protect American mothers so that they too are able to go home and raise their children.”

Despite interruptions and disturbances from people in back of the Capitol rotunda, the speakers continued to follow through with the conference.

“If you wonder why I’m not flinching because of the people speaking in the back while we try to celebrate our day, it’s because we as women are used to being spoken over; we are used to being dismissed; we are used to being put to the side,” said Rep. Cindy Polo.

The activists argued that even the passage of HB 519 would not be the final step in their battle and encouraged female and male feminists to keep fighting for gender equality. 

“Is it difficult? Yes," said Valero. "Are we under attack? Yes. Are we constantly focusing on survival? Yes, of course. But should that be something that keeps us down? Should that hold us back? No, never."