Florida is still under a 6-week extreme abortion ban!

President: Debbie Deland

Vice President: Arlene Ustin

Secretary: Diane Lebedeff

Treasurer: Suzanne Southard

Membership Director: Judi Marraccini

Legislative Director: Kat Duesterhaus

Communications Director: Kaitlyn Kirk

Every 2 years, members of the Florida National Organization for Women (NOW) elect a new Board at the State Conference (the 2025 State Conference is May 2nd - May 4 in Orlando), with each member serving in a specific role that helps shape the direction of our organization. From President and Vice President to Treasurer, Secretary, and various committee chairs, each position brings unique responsibilities and opportunities to make a meaningful impact. We are seeking passionate candidates from all backgrounds—including diverse ages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, and experiences—to ensure our Board reflects the vibrant diversity of Florida. Help us make a difference in our communities and across Florida! If you would like to run, please reach out to Debbie.

People in ban states are still accessing abortion care. Learn more with the resources below.

Making our voice loud and clear every month against injustices in Florida and nationally.

Florida’s legislature has become a testing ground for authoritarian policies that erode fundamental freedoms and concentrate power in the hands of extremists. They have aggressively curtailed reproductive rights, imposing one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, despite widespread public opposition. They have dismantled LGBTQ+ protections, censoring discussions of gender and sexuality in schools and banning pride flags from public buildings. 

They have attacked our immigrant communities with draconian restrictions, criminalizing everyday life for undocumented residents. They have gutted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, silencing conversations on systemic racism and whitewashing history. They have criminalized poverty and passed laws meant to ban sleeping in public amid a national housing crisis and 18% increase in homelessness.

Even the right to peaceful protest has come under fire, with new laws designed to stifle dissent and criminalize activism. The legislature operates with impunity, ignoring the will of the people while serving the interests of the most extreme factions of their party. This is not just a conservative agenda—it is an authoritarian takeover, and if we do not fight back, our rights will continue to vanish.

Join us for Florida NOW+’s 2025 Lobby Week in Tallahassee from March 17-20. This is our opportunity to confront these injustices head-on, advocate for our communities, and demand accountability from our elected officials.

Dates: March 17-20, 2025
Location: Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee

The Florida National Organization for Women+ is Florida’s oldest grassroots organization fighting for gender equality. Our 2025 Lobby Week is led by Legislative Director Kat Dusterhaus and Lobbyist Barbara DeVane. Get in touch if you have any questions, and let us know if we will see you there!

As part of our monthly gathering, FL NOW is excited to present the PBS documentary "Not Done: Women Remaking America"—a 55-minute film that explores the last five years of the women’s movement and its intersectional fight for equality.

Mark your calendars for March 23rd at 2:00 PM ET and join fellow feminists as we come together to celebrate and reflect on the powerful work of the movement.

Time: March 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting:
Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 891 2437 8868
Passcode: 455941

We look forward to seeing you there!

Women’s History Month is more than a celebration—it’s a call to action. Too often, history erases or sanitizes the stories of those who have resisted, organized, and built the foundations of justice. This month and every month, we uplift the voices of those who have been sidelined—Black, Indigenous, Latina, Asian, disabled, queer, trans, immigrant, working-class, and incarcerated women and gender-expansive people—whose struggles and victories have shaped the fight for liberation.

The truth is, women’s history is still being written. We honor those who came before us: Ida B. Wells, Marsha P. Johnson, Yuri Kochiyama, Sylvia Rivera, Audre Lorde, Wilma Mankiller, and countless others who defied oppression and demanded justice. But we also recognize the activists today—reproductive justice leaders, climate defenders, mutual aid organizers, and anti-racist advocates—who continue their work in the face of rising attacks on bodily autonomy, voting rights, and gender justice.

Florida NOW remains committed to an intersectional feminist movement that refuses to leave anyone behind. Without intersectionality, feminism fails to address the full scope of injustice. This month and every month, we don’t just celebrate—we organize. We fight for abortion access, trans liberation, labor rights, racial justice, and the dismantling of all systems of oppression that seek to divide us.

Every right we have today was fought for—relentlessly, often at great personal cost, and never without resistance. The right to vote, access to abortion, workplace protections, marriage equality, and protections against gender-based violence were not gifts from those in power; they were demanded, organized for, and won by generations of feminists, activists, and radical revolutionaries.

Yet across the world, we see these hard-won rights slipping away and fascism rising. Gendered and racial violence is increasing. Reproductive freedom is being stripped away, forcing people to carry pregnancies against their will. Governments and corporations fuel instability for profit, while global leaders turn away from mass suffering. These are not separate issues—they are deeply connected by systems of power that profit from oppression, extraction, and violence, harming and displacing people everywhere.

In Florida, the fight for gender justice and racial justice is intensifying. Abortion bans, attacks on trans rights, voter suppression, book bans, anti-immigrant policies, the erosion of environmental protections, and assaults on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are all part of a coordinated effort to strip away our freedoms. The state’s leaders are not just targeting individual rights; they are dismantling entire systems of care, education, and community support while silencing those who resist.

• A six-week abortion ban threatens reproductive autonomy, disproportionately impacting Black, brown, Indigenous, disabled, and low-income people.
• Gender-affirming care restrictions have forced many trans people, including youth, to flee the state or go without life-saving medical care.
• Attacks on education have erased Black history, Queer history, and feminist movements from classrooms, while book bans silence marginalized voices.
• Anti-protest laws are being used to criminalize dissent, particularly against racial justice and student activism.
• Citizen-led ballot initiatives, one of the last remaining tools of direct democracy, are under attack. State leaders have worked to undermine the ability of voters to pass progressive policies, making it harder to expand Medicaid, raise wages, or protect reproductive rights.
• Environmental protections are being gutted while corporations exploit Florida’s land and water. Communities—especially low-income and BIPOC communities—are left to suffer the consequences of unchecked pollution, extreme weather, and climate inaction.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are under direct attack in state universities and workplaces, with lawmakers pushing to ban DEI programs and restrict inclusive practices, further marginalizing communities that need support and recognition.

Florida has long been a testing ground for regressive policies that then spread nationwide. That’s why our resistance here matters. We are not just fighting for Florida—we are setting the tone for movements across the country.

Women’s History Month is about remembering the past, but it is also about taking action in the present. Our history teaches us that progress is never inevitable. It is built—by us.

Healthcare systems in the U.S. and around the world have long been shaped by patriarchal, racist, and colonial frameworks that systematically devalue the lives of Black and Indigenous women. Medical misogyny and racism continue to be pervasive, leading to disparities in healthcare outcomes, particularly in reproductive health. Black and Indigenous women experience higher rates of maternal mortality, particularly in childbirth, than their white counterparts, a direct consequence of systemic biases within the medical system.

Doulas, especially Black and Indigenous doulas, provide essential support across reproductive experiences—pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, abortion, and postpartum. By offering emotional, physical, and informational care, doulas help mitigate the deep biases and trauma inherent in our medical system.

The work of doulas is more than just physical support—it’s about healing the trauma caused by a system that has historically mistreated marginalized communities. Centering the work of Black and Indigenous doulas, doctors, and healthcare workers is crucial to dismantling healthcare inequities and ensuring all people receive quality care, moving us toward better perinatal outcomes and true reproductive justice for all.

Is Sex Work a Feminist Issue?
By Alex Andrews, SWOP Behind Bars Program Director

Sex work sits at the crossroads of bodily autonomy, economic survival, and systemic injustice—issues that are central to our feminist struggle. At Florida NOW, we affirm that feminism must defend every individual’s right to choose their own path. When our movement upholds access to reproductive care, economic justice, and the right to live free from state-imposed shame or violence, it is only consistent to recognize sex work as an issue that demands our solidarity.

Bodily Autonomy & Informed Choice Feminism has always championed the right to self-determination. If we defend access to abortion, contraception, and sexual freedom, then we must also resist laws that criminalize or stigmatize consensual sex work. Criminalization strips away agency and forces individuals—particularly women, trans folks, and nonbinary people—into the margins of society.

In Florida, where diverse communities face unique challenges, true feminist justice means trusting people to make decisions about their own bodies and livelihoods.

Economic Justice for All Workers

Sex work is work. Many enter the industry out of economic necessity—an issue deeply tied to systemic inequities in wage, job security, and social safety nets. Mainstream feminist spaces must go beyond rescue narratives that rely on punitive, carceral interventions. Instead, we must support efforts to decriminalize sex work, secure labor protections, and provide real economic alternatives for those who choose this path. Economic justice in Florida demands that we affirm the dignity of all work, especially when marginalized communities bear the greatest burden of economic exclusion.

Challenging Racism, Classism & Exclusion

Too often, sex work is policed along racial and class lines. In Florida, Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and low-income women—as well as trans women—face disproportionate harm from laws that target their very survival. A feminist movement that neglects these intersections fails in its mission. True solidarity means centering the voices of those who have been doubly marginalized, and recognizing that respectability politics has no place in a movement that seeks justice for all.

Carceral Feminism & the Perils of “Rescue” Models

The tendency to “rescue” sex workers through criminal justice interventions—often called carceral feminism—only deepens harm. Policies that focus on punishing clients rather than addressing the underlying social and economic issues push sex work further underground, increasing vulnerability to violence and exploitation. Our commitment is to community-led safety and empowerment: real change comes from decriminalization, unionizing efforts, and a framework of care that respects lived experience.

Evolving Feminist Solidarity

For Florida NOW, the question is not “Is sex work a feminist issue?” but rather, “Can we, as feminists, expand our vision to truly support all women’s rights and dignity?” True feminist solidarity means listening to and working with sex workers in the fight for decriminalization, safe working conditions, and full labor rights. It means challenging state violence and dismantling systems of oppression—whether in our courts, our streets, or our local policy debates.

Toward a More Inclusive Movement

Across Florida, our communities are diverse. Our feminist struggle must be equally multifaceted. By affirming sex work as work and demanding that laws protect, rather than punish, those who engage in it, we take an important step toward an inclusive movement. Real change comes from building bridges—between grassroots sex worker organizations, labor unions, and community groups that are fighting for racial, economic, and reproductive justice.

Our vision is a Florida where every person is free to choose their own work without fear of stigma, violence, or state coercion. Feminism that is truly for all people must stand with sex workers as partners in the struggle for justice, dignity, and human rights.

By standing in solidarity with sex workers, recognizing their rights as integral to the broader fight for bodily autonomy, and challenging systems of oppression, you help create a more inclusive and just feminist movement.

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