Federal judge blasts DeSantis administration for threats against TV stations / CNN Business

By Liam Reilly and Brian Stelter, CNN Updated 10:54 PM EDT, Thu October 17, 2024

  • First Amendment Ruling: A federal judge sided with local TV stations, granting a temporary estraining order against Florida’s health department for threatening criminal charges over a pro-abortion rights ad.
  • Ad Controversy: The ad, by Floridians Protecting Freedom, claims Florida’s six-week abortion ban endangers women’s lives. The state health department disputes this, calling the ad false and dangerous.
  • Legal Battle: The judge ruled the state’s threats were unconstitutional, amounting to viewpoint discrimination.
  • Resignation: John Wilson, the health department’s general counsel, resigned, citing conscience issues.

“To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”1 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 that promoted a ballot measure 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. Florida has now banned abortions, even in cases like mine.”

FCC said earlier “threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

In prior news, Donald Trump wants the FCC to pull broadcasting licenses of the networks, ABC and CBS. Besides the Freedom of Speech aspect, the FCC only licenses individual broadcasting stations, not networks.

  1. @RalphHightower: I love that parody of Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” ↩