Here's the reason a top Florida health department attorney gave for leaving

[Zorro]

TALLAHASSEE — When he abruptly resigned from his post last week, the top attorney for the Florida Department of Health suggested in a resignation letter that he was uncomfortable with decisions taken by the state agency, which days earlier had threatened to prosecute television stations over political advertisements.

“A man is nothing without his conscience,” John Wilson wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Times/Herald. “It has become clear in recent days that I cannot join you on the road that lies before the agency.”

His resignation came seven days after he sent cease-and-desist letters to Florida television stations that threatened to criminally prosecute them if they did not take down political advertisements in support of Amendment 4, a ballot measure that if approved on Nov. 5 would broaden access to abortion.

The letters are now the subject of a federal lawsuit, in which Wilson is being sued in his personal capacity along with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, the head of the Department of Health. In the lawsuit, Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind Amendment 4, claims the state agency’s threats are a violation of the group’s First Amendment rights to political speech.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/10/17/heres-reason-top-florida-health-department-attorney-gave-leaving/

A (former) DeSantis administration official with a conscience? How very unusual.

[ScratchCat]

1. Now hold on a second

“A man is nothing without his conscience,” John Wilson wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Times/Herald. “It has become clear in recent days that I cannot join you on the road that lies before the agency.”

His resignation came seven days after he sent cease-and-desist letters to Florida television stations that threatened to criminally prosecute them...

Why did he not simply refuse to send the letter, resign and issue a press release about why he was resigning? I mean, resigning after you did their bidding isn't showing you have a conscience.

[NNadir]

2. Exactly.

[zipplewrath]

3. Because of what's coming

It isn't what was done that is bothering him, it is what is still to come next that was over the line (for him).

[Puppyjive]

5. Yep

I agree

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Because we should not simplify things to only black & white and only-instantly-is-good-enough

People do not always arrive at decisions instantly, especially if they begin a position in good faith and then like a boiled frog find themselves in an untenable position because the government and political milieu have changed around them.

Yes, you are a better person if you would have instantly known to not send the letters. You are a more perfect person if you would have always known that.

However, with regard to logic and statements, it is flat-out wrong and simplistic binary thinking to say "resigning after you did their bidding isn't showing you have a conscience".

First, "conscience" is not pure, is not all-or-nothing. People can have good conscience without being saints.

Second, when a person arrives at a conscientious point, they have crossed a threshold. Perhaps you have always had a good or perfect conscience, but few people are like that. Most people have to work things out, especially when things don't turn out the way they expected. I doubt Wilson ever expected to be placed in the position of being ordered to violate the First Amendment.

A person who develops a conscience or expands their conscience is NOT a 'person without a conscience'.

Nor do you know Wilson's situation. For all you or I know, he might have dependent children needing lots of medical treatment that he would lose by resigning. Or perhaps he was threatened with "You will never work in law again if you don't send those letters. We manufactured some damning evidence of financial fraud we can use."

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. This is cut and dried, black and white: Political speech is the most protected form of speech.

No one should be in public office without knowing this.

Until proven otherwise, I will continue to consider that Wilson's conscience became engaged when the lawsuit landed on his trigger.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Oh, life is so simple. Nothing like my last para ever happens to people in a simple world

There are no moral dilemmas in a simple world. People never make mistakes and evolve to regret them in a simple world.

Yes, the First Amendment is clear but people's situations are never simple. But it is always possible to imagine or assume that their situations are simple.

[Danascot]

4. "It's the First Amendment, stupid"

A federal judge ordered Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state health department to stop threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they kept running ads in favor of an abortion amendment on the ballot next month.

In a sharply worded ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker rebuked the DeSantis administration for trying to quash what he called constitutionally protected political speech.

“To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid,” Walker wrote, granting a request for a temporary restraining order. A hearing for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for later this month.

The ruling puts a temporary halt to one of DeSantis’ most brazen attempts to defeat Amendment 4, which would overturn the six-week abortion ban he signed into law.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2024/10/17/florida-desantis-abortion-amendment-judge-order-ladapo/

[Jimvanhise]

7. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is America's #1 quack

At his hearing to become Florida's Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo refused to state whether he thought vaccines were effective. The Republican majority voted for him anyway. Since then it was revealed that the hospital he worked at in California stated that Lapado never worked with covid patients like he said on his resume. Representatives of the governor's office rejected the claim as a "conspiracy theory."

[Escurumbele]

8. Where is his conscience? He sent the letter, didn't him? Something happened after that which awoke

his "conscience", I would think that would have happened before he sent the letter.

[rubbersole]

9. Being personally sued has a tendency to focus the mind.

Just sayin'.

[LiberalArkie]

11. Didn't the previous one flea to Arkansas? Ours left Queen Sanders and moved to the CDC during Covid and I

thought was replaced by one from Florida. We also got a new dir of education from Florida.

Maybe this one is moving to Arkansas also,.

[Fullduplexxx]

13. Well a court just told dejackass to cease and desist

[Warpy]

14. Republican (fake) Christian overreach

I would love to see the GOPee get shellacked in Florida, but I don't see it as any sort of probability. Florida has been friendly to wingnut churches for far too long for that.

So my hope is that enough useless legislators who rant and rave about abortion but don''t do anything else get ousted to make a difference.