DeSantis administration threatens local TV station for airing abortion rights campaign ads

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DeSantis administration threatens local TV station for airing ********* rights campaign ads

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’s administration has appeared to threaten a local TV station with legal action for airing an

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campaign ad.

The ad in question is the same one that aired in Florida during the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. It features a woman named Caroline who needed to have an ********* and ******* treatments after a brain tumor diagnosis in 2022.

Such a difficult situation would have been complicated by Florida’s six-week ********* ban today.

“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,” the woman says. “

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has now banned ********* … even in cases like mine. Amendment 4 is gonna protect women like me.”

The letter — dated October 3 and sent by the Florida Department of Health to WFLA TV’s vice president Mark Higgins — was shared on social media by

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, who accused the administration of “trying to intimidate” the TV station.

The DeSantis administration had previously been accused of using his election police dragnet to target citizens who signed a petition that successfully put Amendment 4 on November’s ballots.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is accused of using his administration to threaten local TV stations airing campaign ads supporting an ********* rights measure. (AP)

Florida is one of several states with reproductive rights on the ballot this November. If passed, Amendment 4 would enshrine the right to ********* care in the state’s constitution, effectively overturning the six-week ban.

The department claims the ad is ******** under section 386.01 of Florida law that allows the state to remove any “nuisance” that “threatens or impairs” people’s health.

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The woman named Caroline who features in the campaign ad (The Independent)

“The advertisement is not only false; it is dangerous,” the letter reads.

The Health Department said that if the ad is not removed within 24 hours, the department will initiate legal proceedings to obtain an injunction.

Critics have accused the state government of “fascism” and trying to silence political rivals.

Leon County Democrats responded: “Outrageous bullying using the government. Pure fascism.”

“Floridians, THIS is not democracy!” said Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. “We do not live in a free state, free of government interference, free of government intimidation and free of government overreach.”

“The DeSantis regime is threatening TV stations with prosecution for running ads supporting ********* rights and Amendment 4,” added former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is running for the state Senate. “Florida is not a free state.”

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The Department of Health threatened legal action over the pro-choice advert (@Jason_Garcia/X)

Amendment 4 would codify the right to an ********* at any point before fetal viability, and prevent laws in the state from restricting access before that point. It would also prevent laws from interfering with abortions after that point in the pregnancy if necessary to “protect the patient’s health”.

Florida’s ban on ********* at roughly six weeks of pregnancny — before many women know they are pregnant — is among the most severe

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laws in the country.

It came into effect this past May after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to ********* by overturning Roe vs Wade in 2022.

Florida’s six-week ban, like its 12-week predecessor, has exceptions for women whose

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but hospitals and medical providers have been hesitant to test such exceptions.

The Independent has requested comment from the Florida Department of Health and WFLA TV.

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#DeSantis #administration #threatens #local #station #airing #********* #rights #campaign #ads

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