The Florida Department of Health cannot block a television ad supporting a ballot measure protecting abortion rights, the agency has ruled, threatening local TV stations with criminal charges if they don’t stop airing the ads. A federal judge ruled Thursday for sending a letter ordering him to take risks.
“The government cannot absolve itself of indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring offensive speech ‘false,'” U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker wrote in the ruling. “Simply put about Florida: It’s the First Amendment, idiot.”
Florida is one of 10 states scheduled to vote on abortion-related ballot measures in November. If passed, Florida’s bill would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution and end the state’s six-week ban on abortions that went into effect in May.
Earlier this month, the Florida Department of Health sent cease-and-desist letters to television stations running ads for the movement behind the measure, Protect Floridians for Freedom. In the ad, a woman named Caroline talks about being diagnosed with cancer while pregnant.
“The doctors knew that if I didn’t terminate the pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life, and my daughter would lose her mother,” Caroline said in the ad. “Florida currently prohibits abortion, even in cases like mine.”
The letter said claims that women cannot access life-saving abortions in Florida are “completely false” because Florida’s ban allows abortions for medical emergencies. “The fact is that these ads are demonstrably false and harmful to Florida’s public health,” Jay Williams, Florida’s director of health public affairs, said in an email late Thursday.
But doctors across the country say the abortion ban’s language is too vague, forcing people to deny medically necessary abortions. Doctors in New York recently announced that they had treated a woman with an ectopic pregnancy, which can be life-threatening if left untreated, after being turned away by a Florida hospital.
In response to the letter, Floridians Defending Freedom sued Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s Surgeon General, and John Wilson, former general counsel for the state Department of Health Services. At least one television station stopped airing the ad, according to the coalition’s complaint.
On Thursday, Walker filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Ladapo from taking further action against stations and other media outlets that may air “Floridians Defending Freedom” ads. gave.
Get the most important US headlines and highlights sent straight to your email every morning
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may include information about charities, online advertising, and content sponsored by external parties. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After newsletter promotion
“Of course, the Florida Surgeon General is entitled to assert his position on the vote,” Walker wrote. “But allowing the state to translate its advocacy into direct suppression of protected political speech would undermine the rule of law.”
In recent weeks, Florida’s government, led by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, has sent law enforcement officers to investigate people who signed petitions to put the measure on the ballot and urged people not to vote. A web page has been established. And it released a report suggesting the measure appeared on the ballot because of “a large number of forged signatures or fraudulent petitions.” Floridians Defending Freedom denies wrongdoing.
Anti-abortion activists then filed a lawsuit to remove the measure from the ballot or invalidate any votes cast for it.
