Gabrielle Russon
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has extended a temporary restraining order barring the state from threatening criminal charges for local TV stations that play pro-abortion rights political ads.
Walker ruled the restraining order will expire 5 p.m. on Nov. 12, a week after Florida voters will decide on whether to Amendment 4 and enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
“While this case isn’t over, this second ruling is once again a critical victory for every Floridian who believes in democracy and the sanctity of the First Amendment,” said Lauren Brenzel, Campaign Director of Yes on 4.
“Once again, 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 continues to remind us that Floridians will not back down in the face of government intimidation.”
Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), the political committee backing Amendment 4, sued Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and accused the state of violating the group’s First Amendment rights.
The Department of Health (DOH) — under guidance from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attorneys, per the former DOH General Counsel who has since resigned — sent cease and desist letters to TV stations threatening them with criminal prosecution for playing an Amendment 4 advertisement called “Caroline.”
WINK-TV, a CBS affiliate in Fort Myers, pulled the ads for five days this month, according to court records.
In a court affidavit, FPF Chair Sara Latshaw, said the political committee fears the state will keep making criminal threats after the Nov. 5 election.
Walker said in his ruling he will extend the temporary restraining order to give him more time to rule on the preliminary injunction FPF is seeking.
DeSantis did not explicitly address the Judge’s ruling at an anti-Amendment 4 rally Tuesday morning, although he did say, “We’ve seen in Florida, you can always find a liberal Judge that’s going to do something.”
The “Caroline” ad tells the story of a Tampa woman who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer when she was pregnant with her second child. She had an abortion in her second trimester in order to get life-extending chemotherapy.
“Florida has now banned abortion even in cases like mine. Amendment 4 is going to protect women like me. We have to vote ‘yes,’” Caroline says in the ad.
The state says that’s not true and that Florida’s new abortion law allows exceptions to save a mother’s life.
Amendment 4 backers argue the state’s abortion law creates gray areas and fear among doctors. Since Caroline’s chemotherapy would have extended her life but not save her life, she wouldn’t have been allowed to get an abortion, they said.
The Judge’s ruling is one of the rare times the DeSantis administration has been successfully challenged in using its resources to fight against the amendment, which requires at least 60% support to become law.
3 comments
Dont Say FLA
October 29, 2024 at 1:43 pm
Trump’s gonna go full Sway AND Rock Mode if his handlers tell him about this one! Shhhhh don’t nobody tell him
I Am Speaking.
October 29, 2024 at 2:10 pm
Did you read the amendment or just vote yes so you could poke DeSantis and Trump in the eye? This statement “there is also uncertainty about whether the amendment will require the state to subsidize abortions with public funds. Litigation to resolve those and other uncertainties will result in additional costs to the state government and state courts that will negatively impact the state budget.” Now I am completely in favor of a woman’s right to choose. However I can’t support an amendment that appears to have no idea of the cost. Bottom line is my taxes are already high enough.
Tom
October 29, 2024 at 2:27 pm
Had he not decided to pull a political stunt during his primary run by reducing it to six weeks in the first place, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. 15 weeks, I think, was reasonable. I know you like the guy but a lot of what he does gets overturned in higher courts and we already waste taxpayer money to defend his poorly written / poorly thought out legislation. Either way, the people will decide and if it gets over 60%, he’ll waste more money trying overturn it. Such is life in Florida.