Lawsuit targets state website advocating against abortion ballot initiative

A political committee leading efforts to pass a constitutional amendment on abortion rights filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the state Agency for Health Care Administration is using a website and ads to spread “misinformation” about the November ballot measure.

The lawsuit, filed in Leon County circuit court by attorneys for the Floridians Protecting Freedom committee, seeks a temporary injunction to prevent the agency from continuing to disseminate the information online and through television and radio ads.

“In educating the electorate about the purpose and ramifications of a proposed constitutional amendment, the government cannot do so in a manner that is inaccurate, misleading, abusive, or fraudulent,” the lawsuit said. “AHCA’s actions regarding Amendment 4 (the abortion rights amendment) … have been inaccurate, misleading, abusive and fraudulent.”

The lawsuit alleges that the agency has violated Floridians Protecting Freedom’s right to propose constitutional amendments and that state law prevents officials from participating in political advocacy.

“Under the guise of providing ‘facts’ to the public, the website contains harmful statements that are fundamentally misleading at best, if not outright false,” the lawsuit said. “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.”

But Gov. Ron DeSantis this week defended the agency’s information, describing it as “above board” and likening it to public-service announcements by other government agencies.

“You know, we have resources to do public-service announcements across a wide variety of fronts. That goes to the Department of Transportation, for example, on safe driving,” DeSantis said Monday during an appearance in Miami Lakes. “It's being used by the AHCA agency to basically provide people with accurate information. And I think that that's something that's really important, because, quite frankly, a lot of people don't usually get that in the normal (information) bloodstream. So, everything that's put out is factual. It's not electioneering.”

DeSantis is helping lead efforts to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment, which comes after the Legislature last year passed a law to prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In part, the proposed amendment says, 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.” 

The website targeted in the lawsuit includes statements such as, “Current Florida Law Protects Women, Amendment 4 Threatens Women’s Safety.”

Also, for example, it takes issue with wording of the amendment, such as the use of the term “healthcare provider,” which it contends “could include a wide range of professionals connected to healthcare which might differ from the current requirement that these important decisions be made only by a physician.”

“Here’s the truth: The Florida Legislature will lose the ability to protect basic, common-sense health care regulations due to these open-ended and arbitrary terms,” the website says.

But the lawsuit disputed such arguments and quoted a decision by the Florida Supreme Court that signed off on the ballot proposal’s wording.

“The Florida Supreme Court rejected the claim that Amendment 4 was deceptive or misleading, finding that ‘the ballot title and summary fairly inform voters, in clear and unambiguous language, of the chief purpose of the amendment and they are not misleading,’” wrote attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel, who are representing Floridians Protecting Freedom.

An emergency motion for a temporary injunction filed with the lawsuit alleged that the state has “unlawfully weaponized taxpayer resources” to oppose the amendment.

“Through this website, AHCA disparages Amendment 4 and Floridians Protecting Freedom as its sponsor, alleging fearmongering and lying,” the motion said. “AHCA presents voters with false information about Amendment 4 and current law and creates a sense of urgency that ‘Current Law Protects Women. Amendment 4 Threatens Women’s Safety,’ that Amendment 4 will ‘lead to unregulated and unsafe abortions,’ and ‘We must keep Florida from becoming an abortion tourism destination state.’ Voters can only be left with the impression that this state agency is advising them to vote no on Amendment 4.” 

But in an email Monday, the agency’s communications office said AHCA was providing facts and information to Floridians.

“Part of the agency’s mission is to provide information and transparency to Floridians on the quality of care they receive,” the email said. “Our new transparency page serves to educate Floridians on the state’s current abortion laws and provide information on a proposed policy change that would impact care across the state.”

The lawsuit came two days after Palm Beach County attorney Adam Richardson filed a case at the Florida Supreme Court about the agency information. Richardson asked the Supreme Court to issue what is known as a writ of quo warranto to Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida, DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody “forbidding them from misusing or abusing their offices to interfere with the election for Amendment 4, and to unravel whatever actions they have already taken to do so.”