Florida Judge Orders Halt on State Efforts to Remove Abortion Ad

Florida’s health department must pause any ongoing attempts to remove advertisements and other communications in support of an abortion rights ballot measure in the state, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The campaign Floridians Protecting Freedom is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the Florida Department of Health “has crossed the line from advocating against Amendment 4 to censoring speech” by warning television stations that they could face legal action for airing a recent broadcast ad supporting the ballot measure, Chief Judge Mark E. Walker for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida wrote in his order.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo is thus “enjoined from taking any further actions to coerce, threaten, or intimate repercussions directly or indirectly to television stations, broadcasters, or other parties” for airing the ad, Walker wrote.

The temporary restraining order is set to remain in effect until Oct. 29, when the court will hold a hearing on Floridians Protecting Freedom’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

The action comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration has faced claims of improperly using taxpayer funds to campaign against Amendment 4, which would protect abortion until fetal viability, or roughly 24 weeks, and afterward to protect a patient’s health.

The campaign filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Ladapo and John Wilson, who within the last week left his role as the state health department’s general counsel, over a letter the department sent to stations across the state airing the Yes on 4 campaign’s “Caroline” ad.

The video, which the campaign began airing Oct. 1, features a woman with brain cancer who needed an abortion to receive chemotherapy. As of Thursday, Floridians Protecting Freedom has devoted nearly $2.5 million to air the ad in TV markets across the state, according to data from AdImpact.

The health department’s Oct. 3 letter claimed the video falsely says the “current Florida law does not allow physicians to perform abortions necessary to preserve the lives and health of pregnant women.”

“While your company enjoys the right to broadcast political advertisements,” this “does not include free rein to disseminate false advertisements,” Wilson wrote in the letter, which also said that the Florida government has a right to prosecute over the failure to remove false information that could cause harm to individuals seeking medical care.

Floridians Protecting Freedom rejected these claims, arguing that the government sought to unconstitutionally regulate political speech.

“The court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the government cannot silence the truth about Florida’s extreme abortion ban,” Yes on 4 Campaign Director Lauren Brenzel said in an emailed statement in response to the judge’s order.

The health department stands by its claims, with Communications Director Jae Williams saying in an emailed statement that “these ads are unequivocally false and detrimental to public health in Florida.”

“The media continues to ignore the truth that Florida’s heartbeat protection law always protects the life of a mother and includes exceptions for victims of rape, incest, and human trafficking,” Williams said.

Elias Law Group LLP, The ACLU Foundation of Florida, and Meyer, Blohm and Powell, P.A. are representing Floridians Protecting Freedom. The state health department is represented by attorneys at Cooper & Kirk PLLC.

The case is Floridians Protecting Freedom Inc v. Ladapo, N.D. Fla., No. 4:24-cv-00419, motion for temporary restraining order granted 10/17/24.