TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A federal judge who recently accused Florida officials of “trampling” on free speech rights continued to block the state’s health department chief from taking further action on the issue. threatening TV channels will run ads for abortion rights measure on next week’s ballot.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker extended a temporary restraining order on Nov. 5, siding with Floridians Defending Freedom, which created ads supporting the ballot question that, if passed, would add abortion rights to the state constitution.

Walker announced the decision from the podium after hearing arguments from campaign lawyers and state officials. The decision expands the scope of a previous order prohibiting State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo from taking any action to coerce or intimidate broadcasters who run the advertisements.

Walker said extending the temporary restraining order would give him more time to decide on the injunction sought by the abortion rights campaign. The order will be valid until Election Day and will expire on November 12 unless the judge rules before then.

The group applied case Ladapo and John Wilson, who was then the state health department’s top lawyer before unexpectedly resigning, sent a letter to TV stations on Oct. abortion rights adHe argued that this was wrong and dangerous. The letter also states that publishers may face criminal prosecution.

The ad in question features a woman named Caroline Williams who says Florida’s current law, which bans most abortions after six weeks, will prohibit her from receiving the procedure that her doctors say is necessary to extend her life after she was diagnosed with terminal brain disease. Cancer in 2022. Her doctors would not continue her cancer treatment while she was still pregnant.

An attorney for the state argued that the claims made in the ad were dangerously misleading and could put Floridians at risk if they did not seek medical care because they believed all abortions were prohibited in the state.

The spread of “misinformation about the availability of life-saving medical services” is not protected by the Constitution, state attorneys wrote in their legal filing.

At Tuesday’s hearing, attorney Brian Barnes likened the FPF ad to a hypothetical ad claiming the state’s 911 system was down, creating a public health emergency.

“We find that this case is controlled by the same legal principles that apply to the 911 presumption,” Barnes said.

An attorney for FPF argues that “the ad is accurate” and that it features a Florida resident describing his medical condition in his own words.

Lawyer Ben Stafford argued that robust protections of free speech are vital to a functioning democracy, especially on issues where there is clear disagreement on difficult moral and religious issues, such as abortion.

“What the First Amendment does is leave such matters to the public marketplace of ideas,” Stafford said, “not to the whims of a government censor.”

Walker’s decision Tuesday expands the scope of an Oct. 18 order that prohibits state officials from “trampling” on the free speech rights of people with whom they disagree.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech by declaring that unpopular speech is ‘wrong,'” the judge said in his previous ruling.

He added: “To simplify it for the State of Florida: It’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

Tuesday’s hearing was the latest development in the ongoing fight between abortion rights advocates and officials in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. state-sponsored campaign to block the ballot measure.

If approved by 60 percent of Florida voters, the constitutional amendment would protect the right to abortion until the viability of the fetus, which is considered a period exceeding 20 weeks. The measure would override a current state law that bans most abortions after six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

In the weeks before the election, DeSantis held taxpayer-funded, campaign-style rallies with doctors and religious leaders to advocate against the proposed change. Four state agencies allocated millions of dollars in public funds to create their own ads opposing the abortion measure and another proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state; Critics say the move violates a state law that bans government officials from using public offices for electioneering.

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Kate Payne is a syndicated member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. report for america is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.