NewsTreasure CoastRegion St Lucie CountyFort Pierce

Actions

Fort Pierce intersection ground zero for abortion debate

Abortion clinic steps away from pregnancy care center
Pregnancy Care Center and A Woman's World Medical Center signs in Fort Pierce
Posted at 11:30 PM, May 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-04 08:38:43-04

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The divide between pro-life and pro-choice movements has been seen clearly for years on one Fort Pierce street.

There is both an abortion clinic and a pregnancy care center within steps of each other at the intersection of South 12th Street and Delaware Avenue in Fort Pierce.

South 12th Street and Delaware Avenue intersection in Fort Pierce
The abortion debate is on full display at the intersection of South 12th Street and Delaware Avenue in Fort Pierce.

For years, Mary DelDuca has stood on the sidewalk outside A Woman's World Medical Center with pro-life signs. The facility, on the west side of 12th Street, is an abortion clinic.

Mary DelDuca straightens up pro-life signs outside abortion clinic in Fort Pierce
Mary DelDuca routinely stands on the sidewalk outside A Woman's World Medical Center with her pro-life signs. "God called us all to do something," she tells WPTV.

Across the street on the east side of the road is the Pregnancy Care Center, which says it offers resources to women to help support their pregnancies or consider adoption.

Pregnancy Care Center sign in Fort Pierce
The Pregnancy Care Center in Fort Pierce is across the street from an abortion clinic.

"God called us all to do something," DelDuca said, saying she feels a sense of purpose trying to encourage people not to end their pregnancies. "There are little babies here. I'm living. Why shouldn't they live?"

Across the street, Emily Fingerhut shares a similar level of passion for a woman's right to choose.

"It makes me terribly angry to see there are people who feel like they should have a say in my body and my choices," Fingerhut said.

Emily Fingerhut, opposes Roe v. Wade reversal
Emily Fingerhut worries that a woman's right to choose is being whittled away. "It makes me terribly angry to see there are people who feel like they should have a say in my body and my choices," Fingerhut tells WPTV.

Fingerhut has organized women's marches in the past throughout Fort Pierce.

"My rights are being taken away from me," she said.

The conflict on the corner has been featured in an HBO documentary.

That's why WPTV also went there to get reaction to leaked Supreme Court documents that show Roe v. Wade might be overturned.

RELATED: Rally held in West Palm Beach to fight Roe v. Wade reversal

"Horror. Horror and shock," Fingerhut said.

"Happiness beyond control," DelDuca countered.

Fingerhut worries women's health could be jeopardized.

"It's not that we're going to stop having abortions," Fingerhut said. "It's that we're not going to have a safe way to do it."

A Woman's World Medical Center sign in Fort Pierce
A Woman's World Medical Center sits on the corner of South 12th Street and Delaware Avenue in Fort Pierce.

DelDuca feels hopeful for a reversal she never thought she'd see in her lifetime.

"I just couldn't believe it, because you do it for so many years," DelDuca said. "To see the light out of the tunnel would be a miracle."

Now, they wait to see how the Supreme Court interprets the constitution in a final decision about Roe v. Wade expected in the coming months.

That decision, however, is unlikely to bridge to divide on this corner.

"I definitely feel like our rights are supposed to be protected under the constitution," Fingerhut said. "That’s kind of what it's all about. Why are they not protecting us?"

"The First Amendment right — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," DelDuca said. "You can't have the other two without the first guy — life."