Judge refuses to block DeSantis’ taxpayer-funded website opposing Amendment 4

After Floridians Protecting Freedoms successfully placed Amendment 4 on the ballot, the DeSantis administration launched its own campaign to derail the initiative at what critics say is a steep cost to taxpayers.

A Leon County circuit judge on Monday denied a temporary injunction that sought to prevent Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) from propagating what opponents claim is blatant misinformation about Amendment 4, the citizen-led initiative that seeks to restore abortion rights after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 6-week abortion ban went into effect in May. 

Judge Jonathan Sjostrom asserted that “courts must trust the people to decide what information is important to them,” ruling against the political committee sponsoring the amendment, Floridians Protecting Freedom.

In the lawsuit filed on Sept. 12, Floridians Protecting Freedoms argued that AHCA’s website and ads spread inaccurate information, and that the agency’s actions violated their right to propose constitutional amendments.

Judge Sjostrom, however, ruled that it is voters, not the courts, who must determine the validity of the arguments presented during the campaign.

Specifically, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s site warns that Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety,” and under a headline that reads “Don’t let the fear mongers lie to you,” claims that “the framework developed by the Florida government to regulate abortion sets reasonable and common-sense guardrails for medical professionals and their facilities.”

In reality, opponents say, DeSantis’ abortion ban restricts access to abortion care before many women even know they’re pregnant. And though the ban includes exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities and to protect the life of the mother, among other provisions, some doctors in the Sunshine State say that those “guardrails” are not enough to ensure the safety of women.

“Every pregnancy is unique and requires different medical considerations and care,” Dr. Mona Mangat, a St. Petersburg physician and Board Chair of the Committee to Protect Health Care, told Floricua. “As a physician, I know that when it comes to issues as personal and complicated as pregnancy, politicians are never more qualified to make health care decisions than patients and their doctors.”

An all-out war against abortion rights

Amendment 4, the grassroots initiative that will appear on the November ballot, seeks to restore the previous standards of Roe v. Wade, which required abortion to be legal until fetal viability – the point at which the fetus is viable outside the uterus – which is usually around 24 weeks (or when it is necessary after that to protect a patient’s health, as determined by their healthcare provider). 

But immediately after Floridians Protecting Freedoms launched its campaign to put Amendment 4 on the ballot, the DeSantis administration launched its own campaign to derail the initiative, a move that comes at a steep cost for Florida taxpayers.

According to a report by Florida journalist Jason Garcia, the DeSantis administration purchased $15.5 million in taxpayer-funded ads from agencies that are listed as sponsors of the state’s new anti-abortion ad, including Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Children & Families, and the Department of Health. 

“The government of Florida is choosing to use millions of taxpayer dollars to spread disinformation to voters about abortion instead of helping Floridians deal with the potential catastrophic destruction that could come from Hurricane Helene,” Yes on 4 Campaign Director Lauren Brenzel said in a statement Tuesday. 

RELATED: DeSantis’ administration uses taxpayer dollars in “desperate attempt” to sabotage Amendment 4

Crossing a dangerous line

Judge Sjostrom’s ruling comes after Lake Worth attorney Adam Richardson asked the Florida Supreme Court to stop illegal government interference “with the people’s right to decide whether or not to approve a citizen-initiated proposal to amend their Constitution, free from undue government interference.”

But in response to the legal action accusing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody of abusing their authority in opposing Amendment 4, the state’s top Republicans claim they’re exempt from a state law that bars public officials from using their “official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election.”

“The executive branch is well within its rights in expressing its concerns about a proposed amendment to the state’s governing charter,” Moody’s legal team wrote early last week. 

Michelle Morton, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, disagrees.

“Florida’s government has crossed a dangerous line by using public resources to mislead voters and manipulate their choices in the upcoming election,” Morton said in a statement.

And Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani issued a statement to Floricua accusing DeSantis of “using state power to interfere in our most personal and private decisions.”

“This is the clearest example of why Amendment 4 is so crucial: it’s about protecting our right to make choices about our own bodies without political manipulation or government intrusion,” Eskamani said.

Amendment 4 needs at least 60% of the vote to pass on Nov. 5.

RELATED: Just the facts: What you need to know about Florida’s Amendment 4