Ballot access
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, has opposed the ballot initiative since October 2023, when she asked the Florida Supreme Court to analyze the ballot initiative. [7] [8] In November 2023, Moody urged the Florida Supreme Court to block the ballot initiative, as she questioned the definition of "viability" and argued that the ballot initiative will "lay ticking time bombs that will enable abortion proponents later to argue that the amendment has a much broader meaning than voters would ever have thought". [9]
The Florida Supreme Court in April 2024 approved Florida Amendment 4 to be placed on the ballot for voting in November 2024, because it adequately satisfied the requirements set. [10] Despite Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody arguing that some of the language was deceptive, the Florida Supreme Court instead ruled that "it cannot be said that the ballot summary will mislead voters regarding the actual text of the proposed amendment." [11] The Florida Supreme Court further stated that "the broad sweep of this proposed amendment is obvious in the language of the summary. Denying this requires a flight from reality", while ruling that there is "no basis for concluding that the proposed amendment is facially invalid under the United States Constitution." [10] [12]
Attempted censorship of campaign advertising
On October 4, 2024, the Florida Department of Health's general counsel John Wilson sent cease and desist notices to multiple Florida television stations, threatening prosecution if they did not retract a campaign advertisement for Amendment 4. The department alleged the ad falsely implied that abortions to protect the life of the mother were not possible under current state law; [13] [14] while the Heartbeat Protection Act does contain exceptions for these scenarios, they are considered vague, and there have been reports of patients turned away by Florida hospitals due to uncertainties under the law. [15] [16] The letter asserted that the ad "threatens or impairs" the health of Florida residents by encouraging them to delay their abortion or pursue one out-of-state, therefore constituting a "sanitary nuisance" punishable as a criminal misdemeanor under state law. [17] [18] [19] One station—WINK-TV in Fort Myers—complied with the cease and desist order. [20]
The threat was criticized by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF)—the organization who produced the ad—who stated that it was an "unconstitutional state action", and "a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment." [19] [13] FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated that "threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government's views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech." [13] [19] On October 12, it was reported that Wilson had quietly resigned. [14]
On October 16, FPF filed a lawsuit against the Florida government, alleging "unconstitutional coercion and viewpoint discrimination" in its threats against television stations. The suit argued that the Florida government "cannot use its coercive powers as the state to attempt to chill or suppress the speech of FPF or others who would speak in support of the amendment or facilitate that speech. Wilson and surgeon general Joseph Ladapo are named in the lawsuit. [15] The next day, a 12-day restraining order was granted against Ladapo by Judge Mark Walker, stating "to keep it simple for the State of Florida: it's the First Amendment, stupid." [21]
In an affidavit, Wilson revealed that he had been directed to send the letters by Ryan Dean Newman and Jed Doty—the general counsel and deputy general counsel of Governor Ron DeSantis. He stated that he was not involved in the writing of the letters, and that he had resigned from his position in condemnation of their actions. FPF subsequently dropped Wilson from the suit. [20]
Government