It was hard to tell which group the honking was for as cars zoomed past the site of an ongoing protest and counter protest in front of Tampa Planned Parenthood on Saturday.
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The two groups, separated just by the driveway into the clinic, engaged with drivers passing by, but not one another, as they vied for support.
A woman in the middle of a median on N 56th Street hoisted a sign above her head that said, "Honk if you are pro-life." A priest led the group of about 120 people in saying the "Our Father."
On the other side, about 150 people dressed in pink clutched matching signs that said "I support Planned Parenthood." Some wore pink knit hats with cat ears, which were popular during last month’s Women’s March to show opposition to President Donald Trump.
Similar scenes played out in front of a St. Petersburg Planned Parenthood and across the country on Saturday morning, as those against Planned Parenthood turned out in support of Republican congressional leaders’ plans to defund the organization. The 100-year-old women’s health care provider offers birth control and other women’s health services, including abortions, at more than 600 centers across the U.S.
Last month, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that Republicans will move to take all federal funding — roughly $400 million in Medicaid money — away from Planned Parenthood as part of a budget proposal that also would dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Protestors, and Republican leaders, have called for that funding to go instead to community health centers that do not perform abortions.
"We stand here unified for life for mothers and fathers," said Tampa protest organizer Jane Lupia. "We’re not trying to take away health care … you can’t call abortion health care."
Planned Parenthood advocates say as many as 400,000 women will lose access to care and may not be able to find another care provider.
Outside of the St. Petersburg clinic, a group of about 30 protestors were outnumbered by more than 150 supporters of Planned Parenthood. They stretched from 6th Street S to 7th Street S on 1st Avenue S.
"Women’s rights are human rights," said Patricia Gifford, 33 of Pinellas Park. "I just want our leadership to know that a lot of people support Planned Parenthood."
Lupia, the Tampa anti-abortion protestor, said the spirit of the day was not anger toward Planned Parenthood supporters, but hope and prayer.
"We just hope they change their minds," she said, "and see that abortion is murder."
The Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida released a statement in response to the "#ProtestPP Coalition" that said it serves more than 40,000 people a year in the area and that more than 90 percent of it services are related to preventative care.
But the group’s critics call it corrupt. Protestors’ signs on Saturday said it lies. Some wore shirts that said, "Babies are not spare parts."
But despite their sharp disagreement, each side managed to protest peacefully.
Both sets of protests in the Tampa Bay area went off without incident.
Times Staff Photographer Eve Edelheit contributed to this report. Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3400. Follow @sara_dinatale.
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