A federal court on Thursday ordered a Ron DeSantis led Florida administration to stop threatening television stations with criminal prosecution for airing a political ad in favor of enshrining abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.
Chief US district Judge Mark E Walker of the Northern District of Florida granted a temporary restraining order against Florida’s surgeon general after the state health department threatened to bring criminal charges against broadcasters airing the ad.
According to a report on CNN, Judge Mark E Walker of the Federal District Court in Tallahassee said that the threats by the Florida department of Health to stations across the state is amounted to “unconstitutional coercion” and “viewpoint discrimination.”
“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false,’” Judge Walker wrote in his 17-page order.
“To keep it simple for the state of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid,” he added.
The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the organization behind the “Yes on 4” campaign for an abortion-rights ballot measure known as Amendment 4.
The state’s health department had previously sent cease-and-desist letters to several television stations, urging them to stop airing an ad titled “Caroline,” which features a woman named Caroline Williams discussing her diagnosis of stage four brain cancer while 20 weeks pregnant. In the ad, Ms. Williams states, “Florida has now banned abortion even in cases like mine.” The state called the ad “false,” and at least one station stopped airing it after receiving the department’s letter.
Lauren Brenzel, the director of the “Yes on 4” campaign, praised the court’s decision, calling it “a triumph for every Floridian who believes in democracy and the sanctity of the First Amendment.” She emphasized that the government cannot silence the truth about Florida’s extreme abortion ban.
Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to defeat Amendment 4 and has used state power to oppose the measure, leading to several legal challenges. While courts had previously declined to intervene, Judge Walker’s order was met with criticism from the governor’s office. Julia Friedland, Mr. DeSantis’s deputy press secretary, claimed that the ads are false and put the lives and health of pregnant women at risk, asserting that Florida’s heartbeat protection law always protects the life of a mother and includes exceptions for victims of rape, incest, and human trafficking.
The campaign is seeking a preliminary injunction against the state, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 29. A separate lawsuit, filed by opponents of Amendment 4 and seeking to remove the measure from the ballot, is currently pending in state court.