New York CNN — “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”
That’s what a federal judge wrote Thursday as he sided with local TV stations in an extraordinary dispute over a pro-abortion rights television ad.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker of the Northern District of Florida granted a temporary restraining order against Florida’s surgeon general after the state health department threatened to bring criminal charges against broadcasters airing the ad.
The controversy stems from a campaign ad by the group Floridians Protecting Freedom, which is behind the “Yes on 4 Campaign,” promoting a ballot measure that seeks to overturn Florida’s six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.
In the 30-second ad, a brain cancer survivor named Caroline says the state law would have prevented her from receiving a life-saving abortion.
“The doctors knew that if I did not end my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life, and my daughter would lose her mom,” she says on camera. “Florida has now banned abortions, even in cases like mine.”
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The state health department – part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration, which has aggressively campaigned against the pro-abortion amendment – said the ad’s claims are “false” and “dangerous” to the public health.
Enterprise7
Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/17/media/florida-judge-tv-abortion-rights-ad-health/index.html