Florida ordered to allow pro-abortion rights ads

Promotional material for Florida amendment to ensure abortion rights — Amendment 4 is a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution

(Image credit: Octavio Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

A federal judge Thursday ordered the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to stop threatening television stations with criminal prosecution for airing a commercial in favor of Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. U.S. District Chief Judge Mark Walker said the Florida Department of Health and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo were unconstitutionally quashing political speech.

Who said what

The Florida health department sent letters on Oct. 3 to TV stations, warning them to stop broadcasting a "categorically false" ad in which a cancer survivor says the state's strict ban would have prevented her from getting a life-saving abortion. At least one station stopped running the ad. Floridians Protecting Freedom, the amendment's main backer, sued on Wednesday, accusing the DeSantis administration of "blatant government interference" and violating free speech rights. Walker agreed and issued a temporary restraining order. "To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it's the First Amendment, stupid," he wrote.

A DeSantis spokesperson dismissed the ruling as "another order that excites the press" and reiterated the claim that the ad is false and dangerous to women's health because Florida's six-week abortion ban "protects the life of a mother and includes exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking" up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.

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What next?

Walker's order "effectively bars Ladapo from intimidating local stations for airing the Amendment 4 ad" until Oct. 29, a week before the election, CNN said. That halts "one of DeSantis' most brazen attempts to defeat Amendment 4," the Miami Herald said. But he and his administration are still aggressively using other "state agencies to attack the proposed amendment," The Washington Post said.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.