Florida's Department of Health (DOH) is threatening to take legal action against local TV stations over an abortion ballot measure ad that the agency says contains false information.
According to The Hill, the state DOH sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to every TV station in Florida that ran the ad, warning them that it violates the state's "sanitary nuisance laws."
But the Federal Communications Commission chair said on Tuesday that the threats from Florida officials undercut the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"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."
The ballot initiative being promoted by the ad seeks to enshrine abortion into the state constitution and reverse the current abortion ban, which prohibits the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.
Sponsored by Floridians Protecting Freedom's Yes on 4 Campaign, the ad shows a woman named Caroline who made the decision to have an abortion so she could receive treatment after being diagnosed with brain cancer during her second pregnancy.
"Florida has now banned abortion, even in cases like mine," Caroline says in the ad. "Amendment 4 is gonna protect women like me. We have to vote yes."
The state DOH says the characterization of the law is simply false, however.
According to the cease-and-desist letter, the ad is "dangerous" because it could cause pregnant women to believe they won't be permitted to have an abortion if their health or life is in jeopardy.
Stations may commit a second-degree misdemeanor by running the ad, the Oct. 3 letter said, punishable by a 60-day jail sentence.
"While your company enjoys the right to broadcast political advertisements … that right does not include free rein to disseminate false advertisements which, if believed, would likely have a detrimental effect on the lives and health of pregnant women in Florida," DOH General Counsel John Wilson wrote.
As it stands, the state's current abortion ban allows for the procedure if it is done to preserve the life and health of the mother, the state argued.
These women "could foreseeably travel out of state to seek emergency medical care, seek emergency medical care from unlicensed providers in Florida, or not seek emergency medical care at all," if led to believe they cannot receive such care in Florida, the letter stated.
The following day, attorneys for Floridians Protecting Freedom sent WCJB-TV a letter demanding the station continue to air the ad.
"This is not just an unfounded request, it is unconstitutional state action," the attorneys wrote. "The Letter is a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment. The Department cannot criminalize media outlets running political advertisements with which it disagrees."
Additionally, the lawyers said the ad was correct in its depiction.
"The Department may or may not honestly believe that its restrictions on reproductive healthcare are sufficient to protect women's health. But that is not the lived experience of pregnant patients and doctors in states with abortion bans like Florida," the group wrote.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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