Gabrielle Russon
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is sending a stern message to the state after the Department of Health (DOH) sent cease and desist letters to TV stations for playing ads backing a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights.
“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”
Rosenworcel’s response comes after DOH took issue with an Amendment 4 ad that tells the story of a Tampa woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was 20 weeks pregnant. She had an abortion to extend her life, something she says wouldn’t be possible now under the state’s current abortion rules.
“The Florida Department of Health has been notified that your company is disseminating a political advertisement claiming that current Florida law does not allow physicians to perform abortions necessary to preserve the lives and health of pregnant women,” DOH General Counsel John Wilson wrote in an Oct. 3 letter to WCJB-TV from Gainesville and other stations, according to the Amendment 4 campaign. “The advertisement is not only false; it is dangerous.”
Amendment 4 responded to the TV executives, demanding the ad remain playing.
“This is not simply an instance where your station has received a baseless cease-and-desist letter in the context of a heated political campaign,” the campaign said. “Here, the Department is threatening the station with criminal prosecution if it does not cease running the Advertisement. This is not just an unfounded request, it is unconstitutional state action. The Letter is a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment.”
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the political committee behind the citizen-led effort to get abortion right on the Nov. 5 ballot, argued the woman’s story details a reality happening in Florida.
“Pregnant patients who have cancer generally cannot undergo chemotherapy. And because the cancer is not immediately life threatening, an abortion is not permitted,” the campaign also said in the letter. “This means that the pregnant person will either need to delay or forgo treatment, jeopardizing their life, or travel out of state to obtain an abortion.”
The FCC regulates television stations in the United States. The agency licenses stations and regulates interstate and international communications.
14 comments
PeterH
October 8, 2024 at 4:56 pm
DeSantis and Moody are auditioning to lead the Republican clown show!
George
October 8, 2024 at 5:32 pm
Florida DOH General Counsel John Wilson is a political hack.
Cheesy Floridian
October 14, 2024 at 11:14 am
he quit
FLPatriot
October 9, 2024 at 7:59 am
The new GOP is a threat to our Republic. They like to project that onto the Democrats but all it takes is a little brain matter and time to look at what they do, especially in Florida. They are the #1 threat to our Democracy.
KathrynA
October 9, 2024 at 11:19 am
I am not voting for the amendment, but there should still be freedom of speech in each state–it is of equal importance (if not more so) than each of the other amendments. This is just crazy seeing the amendment was certified and approved. This is the gestapo and authoritarianism coming after us.
cassandra was right
October 9, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Agree on Freedom of Speech! #1! I hope you’ll reconsider your Amendment 4 vote. The amendment really will save the lives of actual women: moms, wives, daughters. It will also put an end to government forced pregnancy for 9 and 10 year olds — elementary school girls! Think back to when you were a 4th grader…
Cheesy Floridian
October 14, 2024 at 11:16 am
Kathryn, I think that if you do support freedom of speech and freedom in general not to mention if you are against the gestaop and authoritarianism you should vote for this amendment and amendment 3. it will show DeSantis and these people we do not stand or like what they are doing. It is the ONLY way they might listen to us. Please reconsider.
LexT
October 9, 2024 at 11:15 am
Amazing how lying is okay when your side does it.
wake
October 9, 2024 at 2:18 pm
So much for the “free state of Florida” eh? The DOH and Rona DeSatan are not about freedom.
Skeptic
October 9, 2024 at 2:46 pm
Unfortunately, there does not to be a penalty for Ron’s trampling on civil rights that is sufficient to dissuade him from continuing to do so. Presumably, judges could fashion such a remedy, but politicians in robes tend to look to see which way the wind is blowing (when they aren’t seeking gratuities from their benefactors).
Michael K
October 9, 2024 at 3:53 pm
The best remedy is to vote out all enabling Republicans.
KathrynA
October 11, 2024 at 9:20 am
For sure! Not all people who will be leaving Florida at doing so simply due to hurricanes and cost of insurance and housing. Many are due to the crazy state of politics and repression of our freedoms.
Cheesy Floridian
October 14, 2024 at 11:17 am
We need to vote and show these people we do not like what they are doing to our state. That is the only way. Making phone calls, sending letters and emails only go so far. But we need to vote and vote these people out. The state has been controlled by the GOP for over 20 years. every problem in this state has been manufactured by the GOP. They won’t change unless they lose power and the only way they will lose power is to vote them out!
Dr. Franklin Waters
October 14, 2024 at 11:40 am
Ron DeSantis is a corrupt authoritarian manchild.
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