JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A controversial commercial related to the abortion amendment in November's election is allowed to run on TV stations across the state of Florida after a federal judge ruled the State of Florida crossed the line by demanding stations stop airing the ad.
It's an issue of First Amendment rights related to political speech leading up to the election. The organization Floridians Protecting Freedom created an ad campaign designed to convince people to vote "Yes on 4", which would codify abortion in the state constitution.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida said the state went too far by telling local TV stations that they weren't allowed to air that particular ad.
The commercial "Caroline", which was produced by the campaign Yes on Amendment 4, is at the center of the ruling by a federal judge after it ran on dozens of Florida TV stations, including First Coast News.
Under current Florida law, abortions can only be performed until the sixth week of pregnancy unless certain factors like a pregnancy being caused by rape or incest, or the health of the mother becoming in jeopardy if the pregnancy continued.
A cease and desist letter written on Florida Department of Health letterhead was sent to the TV stations that ran the commercial, claiming that the commercial is false and dangerous.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker was blunt in his decision to grant a temporary restraining order against the State of Florida's cease and desist order. Part of his ruling read "To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it's the First Amendment, stupid."
Walker also wrote, "the government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is "false."
With regards to the temporary restraining order, part of a statement by Lauren Brenzel, the campaign director for Yes on 4 said, "this ruling is a powerful reminder that Floridians will not back down in the face of government intimidation."
The woman from the commercial "Caroline" joined reporters for a Zoom call on Friday and said that she has received support from many people since the commercial came out and since the temporary restraining order was granted.
"I haven't received anything but love, even after the cease and desist, I did have questions but I was able to answer the questions and show the truth," said the woman from the "Caroline" Yes on 4 commercial.
Another one of the criticisms of Amendment 4 is that it would allow minors to have abortions up until the 24th week of pregnancy without a parent being notified, however that is not true.
The amendment text states that the amendment would not change Article X, Section 22 of the Florida Constitution, which states a parent or guardian must be notified before a minor's pregnancy is terminated.
The text of Amendment 4 can be viewed here.
The entire Florida Constitution can be viewed here.
Amendment 4 will need at least 60% of the vote to change the law on abortions in the state of Florida. A preliminary injunction hearing regarding the temporary restraining order has been scheduled for Oct. 29.