Judge grants restraining order to stop state’s threats over pro-abortion TV ads

Image via Florida Freedom Fund.

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday to keep the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration from threatening TV stations with criminal prosecution for playing Amendment 4 abortion rights commercials.

“Plaintiff has shown a substantial likelihood of proving an ongoing violation of its First Amendment rights through the threatened direct penalization of its political speech,” Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in his 17-page order. 

Walker’s order comes after Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), the political committee behind Amendment 4, sued Wednesday to stop the health department from sending more cease and desist letters threatening criminal prosecution to Florida TV stations.

FPF celebrated the ruling Thursday night.

“This critical initial victory is a triumph for every Floridian who believes in democracy and the sanctity of the First Amendment,” said Lauren Brenzel, Campaign Director of Yes on 4, in a statement. “The court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the government cannot silence the truth about Florida’s extreme abortion ban. It’s a deadly ban that puts women’s lives at risk. This ruling is a powerful reminder that Floridians will not back down in the face of government intimidation.”

The temporary restraining order expires on Oct. 29, with a preliminary injunction hearing set for that same day.

At least one station — WINK-TV, a CBS affiliate in Fort Myers — acquiesced and stopped playing the Amendment 4 ads about a month before the Nov. 5 election when voters decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. 

“Finally, the reaction from one broadcaster to cease airing the ad after receiving the letter is further evidence of its coercive nature,” Walker wrote.

The ad at the heart of the controversy is about a Tampa woman who found out she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer when she was 20 weeks pregnant with her second child. Before Florida’s current abortion law, she was able to get an abortion to get chemotherapy that extended her life for her family.

“Florida has now banned abortion even in cases like mine. Amendment 4 is going to protect women like me. We have to vote ‘yes,’” the woman identified as Caroline says in the ad.

Caroline is scheduled to speak to the media on Friday during an FPF call.

The health department claimed the ad was false and dangerous in its letters to TV stations.

During regular news conferences, DeSantis uses state resources and the podium to fight against Amendment 4.

“The State of Florida has actively undertaken its own anti-Amendment 4 campaign to educate the public about its view of Florida’s abortion laws and to correct the record, as it sees fit, concerning pro-Amendment 4 speech. The State can continue to combat what it believes to be “false advertising” by meeting Plaintiff’s speech with its own,” the judge wrote.