FCC warns Florida: Threatening TV stations over abortion ad violates First AmendmentImage via Florida Freedom Fund.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is sending a stern message to the state after the Department of Health (DOH) sent cease and desist letters to TV stations for playing ads backing a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights.

“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

Rosenworcel’s response comes after DOH took issue with an Amendment 4 ad that tells the story of a Tampa woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was 20 weeks pregnant. She had an abortion to extend her life, something she says wouldn’t be possible now under the state’s current abortion rules.

“The Florida Department of Health has been notified that your company is disseminating a political advertisement claiming that current Florida law does not allow physicians to perform abortions necessary to preserve the lives and health of pregnant women,” DOH General Counsel John Wilson wrote in an Oct. 3 letter to WCJB-TV from Gainesville and other stations, according to the Amendment 4 campaign. “The advertisement is not only false; it is dangerous.”

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