2nd Lawsuit Filed Against State Meddling in Abortion Amendment

The ACLU of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel filed a joint lawsuit Thursday against the Agency for Health Care Administration, seeking an order for it to cease efforts on its agency website and other media to persuade voters to oppose Amendment 4.

That’s the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot to restore the abortion rights that were available under Roe. v. Wade; it’s sponsored by a group called Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF). The state now forbids abortions after six-weeks’ gestation with few exceptions. Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended the postings as in the interests of transparency.

The venue for the case is a state trial court in Leon County. The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to expedite a separate petition filed directly with it asking the court to block the DeSantis administration’s campaign against the amendment.

“Under the guise of providing ‘facts’ to the public, the website contains harmful statements that are fundamentally misleading at best, if not outright false. It includes multiple statements that lead only to the conclusion that AHCA is using its official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election, or to influence votes and affect the result of the decision on Amendment 4,” the complaint reads.

“This interference in the democratic process infringes on the political power the people reserved to themselves through Article I, Section 1, and their right to propose amendments to the Florida Constitution through ballot initiative under Article XI, section 3,” it continues.

“Accordingly, this Court should declare that AHCA’s actions violate FPF’s right to propose revisions and amendments to Florida’s Constitution, order AHCA to remove the advertising, materials, and information that violate FPF’s rights, and enjoin AHCA from disseminating such advertising or other materials in the future.”

–Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix