Last night at Books and Books in Coral Gables, a room was packed with advocates, reproductive freedom organizations, medical students and doctors, seniors, the abortion fund WEN, and curious community members, all gathered to hear from Dr. Shelley Sella, the first woman who openly provided third-trimester abortion care in the United States.
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Beyond Limits: Stories of Third Trimester Abortion Care, includes Dr. Sella’s experience of being trained by and working with Dr. George Tiller, the Kansas abortion provider who was assassinated in his church in 2009.
Their shared perspective, that patients make the decisions they know are best for them and sometimes those decisions must happen later in pregnancy, is critical. Reproductive freedom and democracy go hand in hand. The ability to make our own decisions and the freedom to define our own life path is essential to a functioning democracy.
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As a provider, she described patients for whom it was a fetal diagnosis incompatible with life that led them to need abortion care. For other patients, circumstances at that point in time didn’t allow the pregnancy to be viable in their lives, or legal or financial barriers delayed their access to care until that point.
Marking her third book talk in Florida, Dr. Sella reminded us that our state’s fight to win back abortion access in Florida must center our compassion for patients, not the politics that so often take over. Put simply, abortion is a decision, not a debate.
As we’re now just days away from Election Day, we are in rooms and communities filled with hope that change is not only coming, it’s here. For abortion access, for the freedom to raise our families in safe and sustainable communities, and for a Florida that respects everyone regardless of who they love, where they were born, or how much money they make, let’s give it our all to make our voices heard.
We’ll see you on the other side of the election when our next newsletter comes out on Friday, November 13th!
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Spread the news far and wide: we’re voting NO on Amendment 3.
If passed, Amendment 3 would cause massive cuts to essential services that our communities and families depend on, new and higher fees, and a tax shift for millions of Floridians.
What do we stand to lose?
- Critical local services that would face funding cuts from Amendment 3 include first responders, public hospitals, health and wellness programs, children’s and family services, disaster preparedness and response, libraries, playgrounds, and more.
Ready to drop off your ballot? Head to dropoffmyballot.com to find your vote-by-mail ballot drop off location, then, make sure everyone you know gets their votes in too.
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Events & Volunteer Opportunities:
Virtual and Statewide
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Rooted in Our Hearts: Cardiovascular Equity Across the Black Maternal Life Course
w/Black Mamas Matter Alliance
Monday, November 9th at 12:00pm
Virtual
Sign up here
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KNOW MEANS KNOW: WTF Just Happened and Where Do We Go From Here w/EducateUS
Tuesday, November 17, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Virtual
Sign up here
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COMS Project Message Summit 2026
w/The COMS Project
Tuesday, November 17th (12:00pm–5:30pm) & Wednesday, November 18th (12:00pm–5:00pm), virtual
$30 registration (scholarships and group discounts available)
Register here
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Acts of Faith: SACReD Gathering 2027
w/SACReD
April 5th – April 7th, 2027
9:00am – 10:00pm
Cincinnati, OH
Register here
Are you a provider looking to attend this conference and interested in a pre-convening with other providers of faith? Email Cheyenne@progressflorida.org and we’ll get you connected.
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In-Person Anne Braden Anti-Racist Organizer Training Program (2027 cohort)
w/Catalyst Project
Online sessions and in-person weekends, March 7th –-July 19th, 2027
San Francisco Bay Area (open to organizers anywhere)
Apply here
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Our Bodies, Our Stories: A Storytelling & Craft Circle w/Abortion in America × Good Grief Women
Wednesday, November 4th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Peach on 14th, Miami
Sign up here
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Pack With Purpose!
w/BeLoved Center @ UU Palm Beaches
Saturday, November 14th, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
UU Palm Beaches, North Palm Beach
Bring a donation of period supplies (pads, tampons, or sanitary wipes).
Can’t attend? Donate here
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Comfort in Labor: A Hands-On Comfort Measures Class w/Central Florida Birth Network
Saturday, November 7th, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Melbourne
Sign up here
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Shop Chat: Sarasota w/Planned Parenthood
Wednesday, November 11th, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
The Historic Leonard Reid House, Sarasota
Sign up here
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Pd. Pol. Adv. provided in-kind by Progress Florida, 200 2nd Ave. S, #808, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
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