(C) Common Dreams
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Florida Amendment 4 webpage blasted as unlawful 'political ad' [1]
['Skyler Swisher']
Date: 2024-09-06
A state website targeting an abortion rights ballot initiative is under fire from Democrats and advocacy groups who accuse Florida’s Republican leaders of pushing an unlawful “taxpayer-funded political ad.”
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration launched a webpage on Thursday that blasts Amendment 4, proclaiming that existing Florida law “protects women” while the initiative enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution “threatens women’s safety.”
The top of the webpage states, “Florida is protecting life/ Don’t let the fearmongers lie to you.” Lower down, it reads, “We must keep Florida from becoming an abortion tourism destination state.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who oversees the health care agency, is one of the leading opponents of Amendment 4 and is campaigning actively against it. But state officials rejected the notion they are improperly mixing politics and government business, billing the webpage instead as an educational “transparency” resource aimed at setting the record straight.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, along with Democrats, disagreed, saying the approach runs afoul of a law barring the use of state resources for political campaigning.
“This kind of propaganda issued by the state, using taxpayer money and operating outside of the political process sets a dangerous precedent,” Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement. “This is what we would expect to see from an authoritarian regime, not in the so-called ‘Free State of Florida.’”
Florida law stipulates that “no employee in the career service” shall “use the authority of his or her position to secure support for, or oppose, any candidate, party, or issue in a partisan election or affect the results thereof.”
Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said in a social media post she is looking into “appropriate legal action,” adding that Florida voters should be “free from government interference and propaganda.”
State officials defended the webpage in an unsigned statement and accused the media of not covering the issue correctly.
“Part of the Agency’s mission is to provide information and transparency to Floridians about the quality of care they receive,” AHCA’s statement read. “Our new transparency page serves to educate Floridians on the state’s current abortion law, and provide information on the impacts of a proposed policy change on the ballot in November.”
Agency officials did not respond to inquiries into how much money was spent on the webpage and whether state employees or an outside group were assigned to work on it.
In a social media post, Jason Weida, AHCA’s secretary, said the page was launched “to combat the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws.” The website includes the state seal, along with AHCA’s logo. AHCA is responsible for administrating Florida’s Medicaid program and regulating the state’s health care providers.
If approved by at least 60% of Florida voters in November, Amendment 4 would undo the state’s six-week abortion ban signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this past year.
The ballot initiative’s summary states in part that, “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
AHCA’s webpage warns that Amendment 4 could result in the Florida Legislature losing the ability to enact “common-sense health care regulations” for abortion, potentially putting women in danger.
Florida currently bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law has exceptions for medical emergencies, including if the women’s life is threatened. Abortions for pregnancies involving rape or incest are allowed up until 15 weeks of pregnancy if a woman shows documentation, such as a police report.
Amendment 4 supporters say Florida’s restrictive abortion ban has blocked women from receiving needed care and interfered with their freedom to make their own health decisions. They deny that protecting abortion rights would put women in danger.
If the webpage is challenged legally, state officials could mount a defense because the content does not explicitly tell Floridians to vote against Amendment 4, although it is implicit in its opposition, said Joshua Scacco, a professor at the University of South Florida who studies political messaging.
The courts would also likely consider how the website was funded and whether state employees were assigned to work on it, he said.
“What you are seeing is state government pushing the envelope into this gray area of what is governing and what is campaigning,” Scacco said, adding that both Republicans and Democrats have blurred the lines.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, agreed the law isn’t clear cut.
“On the one hand, state agencies are allowed to use public funds to educate the public about ballot issues,” he said. “On the other hand, they are not permitted to use public funds to take sides. Thus, while pro-choice advocates will view the website as taking sides, pro-life advocates will see it as merely educating.”
Ben Wilcox, research director for the government watchdog group Integrity Florida, said he was “gobsmacked” by the language used on the page, which he thinks breaks the wall that is supposed to exist between governing and campaigning.
“It is up to the voters to decide whether something should be in our constitution,” he said. “It’s not the government’s responsibility.”
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[1] Url:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/06/critics-blast-floridas-amendment-4-website-as-unlawful-taxpayer-funded-political-ad/
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