Planned Parenthood and the ALCU are furious that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other government officials are speaking out about the deceptive Amendment 4 abortion initiative. They want the courts to completely silence the Governor, the state Attorney General, and the state agencies. But we will not stand for this censorship. We fired back with a critical brief.
In just a matter of weeks, voters in several states will cast their votes to decide if unlimited abortion up until birth should become a state constitution protected “right.” And it seems that the pro-abortionists will stop at nothing, including elaborate lies and the censorship of truth to try to enforce their abortion death sentence upon each state’s population.
In Florida, two lawsuits are seeking to censor and silence the Governor and other officials who are correcting lies about the upcoming abortion ballot initiative. These elected officials have a duty to inform the public about the amendment’s disastrous consequences. Liberty Counsel is on the case.
Liberty Counsel has just filed an important brief with the Florida Supreme Court in Richardson v. Secretary, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, et al., as well as Floridians Protecting Freedom v. Agency for Healthcare Administration. We will protect their freedom of speech.
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In both cases, pro-abortion forces are trying to silence and censor FL Gov. Ron DeSantis and anyone else in the Florida government from telling the unvarnished truth about Amendment 4. This ballot initiative unabashedly seeks to overturn every single one of Florida’s protections for the unborn — AND for women. If passed, this means abortion up to birth. No parental consent, No informed consent, No doctors, No health and safety laws, and state funding of abortion.
Florida recently enacted the “Heartbeat Bill,” a measure that protects an unborn child’s life beginning at six weeks’ gestation — by which time the child’s heartbeat can be detected.
This bill is already saving lives in the Sunshine State.
So, they are not only trying to overturn Florida’s Heartbeat Bill, but they are also trying to eliminate ALL restrictions against abortion. If passed, this measure will allow abortion up to birth.
The ballot initiative would also eliminate parental consent laws and, most alarmingly, would eliminate EVERY health and safety regulation.
The last time a state took this stance, women died along with the children who were brutally aborted. In the 1990s, pro-abortion Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Ridge ended health and safety inspections of abortion clinics because such inspections might interfere with the abortion business.
As a result, a serial killer with a medical license, Kermit Gosnell, went 17 years without his abortion clinic being inspected. His patients contracted venereal diseases and life-threatening infections from unsterilized instruments and a filthy environment, and more than one of his patients died — all because a pro-abortionist didn’t want anything to “interfere” with the abortion industry.
In Florida, pro-abortionists launched a series of purposefully deceitful commercials hoping to scare people into voting for the free-for-all abortion measure. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody moved to set the record straight, releasing bulletins and fact notices to Florida medical professionals on exactly what the current Heartbeat law says, and how Amendment 4 will change the government’s ability to protect women from unscrupulous abortionists like Gosnell.
But the pro-abortion crowd cannot stand the fact that people might be told the truth — so they are trying to sue the state into silence.
The lawsuits are an unconstitutional attempt to censor the lawful speech of government officials. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that elected officials have a constitutional right to speak freely about matters of public concern. Government agencies and their representatives have the right to speak regarding issues of public concern, and they also may collaborate with private parties to advance the government’s message affecting the constituents they serve. Therefore, Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Moody’s advocacy against Amendment 4 is an example of the speech the First Amendment protects.
Government officials have the First Amendment right to speak on matters of public concern. Florida’s abortion Amendment 4 will have a devastating effect if passed. Gov. DeSantis and Attorney General Moody’s participation in the public debate over Amendment 4 is not only permissible but also essential. The lawsuit even complains that I gave a virtual presentation of the Governor’s Faith Initiative Teams educating pastors on the law.
Liberty Counsel is also actively involved in other states where abortion is on the ballot. We will not rest until every child is safe from the abortion industry’s lies and knives.
LifeNews Note: Mat Staver is the Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action and Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
