New York
CNN
—

“To put it simply for the state of Florida, it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

A federal judge wrote this on Thursday when he sided with local TV stations in an extraordinary dispute over a television advertisement for abortion rights.

Chief Judge Mark E. Walker of the Northern District of Florida issued a temporary restraining order against Florida’s surgeon general after the Department of Health threatened to pursue criminal charges against the broadcasters that aired the ad.

The controversy stems from a campaign ad from the group Floridians Protecting Freedom, which is behind the “Yes on 4 Campaign,” promoting a ballot measure that aims to overturn Florida’s six-week abortion ban by writing abortion rights into the state constitution anchor.

In the 30-second ad, Caroline, a brain cancer survivor, says state law would have prevented her from having a life-saving abortion.

“The doctors knew that if I didn’t end my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life, and my daughter would lose her mother,” she says on camera. “Florida has now banned abortions, even in cases like mine.”

The state Health Department — part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, which has aggressively campaigned against the pro-abortion amendment — said the ad’s claims are “false” and “dangerous” to public health.

John Wilson, the general counsel of the Department of Health, sent letters to several television stations that aired the ad. Floridians Protecting Freedom subsequently filed a lawsuit against Wilson and the state’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, saying the threats amounted to “unconstitutional coercion and facial discrimination” and pressured the court to bar the state from following up to the threats to prosecute.

On Thursday, the judge agreed that the Health Department’s threats were “facial discrimination,” writing that the group “presented a substantial opportunity to prove a continuing violation of its First Amendment rights by threatening direct punishment of her political expressions.”

The judge’s order, which is valid through October 29, effectively bans Ladapo from intimidating local stations into airing the Amendment 4 ad.

Walker’s granting of the restraining order comes less than a week after Wilson left office. In a letter obtained by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, Wilson wrote that “a man is nothing without his conscience,” adding that “it has become clear in recent days that I cannot join you on the road ahead.” service is located. ”

Wilson made no mention of the ad’s controversy.

The state health department continues to claim that abortion rights are “unequivocally false and harmful to the public health of Florida.” Jae Williams, the department’s communications director, told CNN on Thursday that “the media continues to ignore the truth that Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Law always protects a mother’s life and includes exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking.”

Some medical experts have said otherwise. “Florida’s extreme abortion ban has created an unworkable legal landscape that puts both patients and doctors at risk,” the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights said in a report last month. The ban “leads to avoidable suffering” and “forces physicians to deviate from established standards of care and medical ethics,” the group said.

The Health Department’s threats were so chilling that WINK, a CBS affiliate, pulled the ad from its broadcasts, Florida Politics reported. Other channels have continued to air the ad, some even Thursday evening, according to the TVEyes video search service.

The broadcasters were backed by Jessica Rosenworcel, the Democratic chairman of the FCC, who said earlier this month that “threats against broadcast stations for airing content contrary to the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of the freedom of speech.” undermine expression.”