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Abortion Ballot Measure Group Sues DeSantis Health Official For Pressure Campaign On TV Stations
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/abortion-ballot-measure-group-sues-desantis-health-official-for-unconstitutional-censorship-of-political-speechFloridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind the Amendment 4 ballot measure going before voters next month, filed a lawsuit Wednesday morning against Florida officials, alleging officials are engaged in a “campaign to attack Amendment 4 using public resources and government authority.”
The lawsuit is a direct response to the cease-and-desist letters Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration officials sent out to TV stations earlier this month, seeking to shut down the airing of advertisements that advocate for the passage of Amendment 4 — a proposal on the ballot in Florida this fall that seeks to codify abortion access into the Sunshine State constitution. Abortion is banned after six weeks in Florida currently.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division against State Surgeon General and head of the Florida Department of Health Joseph Ladapo in his official capacity and John Wilson, former General Counsel to the Florida Department of Health, in his individual capacity. It argues the defendants violated FPF’s First Amendment rights by threatening sanctions against media organizations for disseminating political advertisements in support of Amendment 4 — a proposal DeSantis opposes — according to the complaint.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has resoundingly held that ‘[g]overnment officials cannot to attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors’ … FPF’s advertisement is pure political speech at the very heart of the First Amendment’s protections,” the complaint said.
“‘[T]he advocacy of a politically controversial viewpoint’ is, in fact, ‘the essence of First Amendment expression.’ … The State’s threatened sanctions against third-party media organizations that host the advertisement—in a heavy-handed effort to silence FPF’s speech—is a classic and deeply disturbing example of unconstitutional coercion.”
The lawsuit is a direct response to the cease-and-desist letters Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration officials sent out to TV stations earlier this month, seeking to shut down the airing of advertisements that advocate for the passage of Amendment 4 — a proposal on the ballot in Florida this fall that seeks to codify abortion access into the Sunshine State constitution. Abortion is banned after six weeks in Florida currently.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division against State Surgeon General and head of the Florida Department of Health Joseph Ladapo in his official capacity and John Wilson, former General Counsel to the Florida Department of Health, in his individual capacity. It argues the defendants violated FPF’s First Amendment rights by threatening sanctions against media organizations for disseminating political advertisements in support of Amendment 4 — a proposal DeSantis opposes — according to the complaint.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has resoundingly held that ‘[g]overnment officials cannot to attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors’ … FPF’s advertisement is pure political speech at the very heart of the First Amendment’s protections,” the complaint said.
“‘[T]he advocacy of a politically controversial viewpoint’ is, in fact, ‘the essence of First Amendment expression.’ … The State’s threatened sanctions against third-party media organizations that host the advertisement—in a heavy-handed effort to silence FPF’s speech—is a classic and deeply disturbing example of unconstitutional coercion.”