featured-image

Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R) is threatening to prosecute WFLA-TV , the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area, for airing advertisements that support Amendment 4 in Florida, which, if passed with 60 per cent of the vote, would amend the Florida state constitution to enshrine abortion rights. On a letter , sent to WFLA-TV via the Florida Department of Health, it was stated that the ads allegedly violated Florida’s “sanitary nuisance” law ; violators of the law would face being charged with a second-degree misdemeanour, and, in this case, employees of the Nexstar -owned television station would face 60 days in jail. October 3, 2024 Mark Higgins WFLA-TV PO.

Box 1410 Tampa, FL 33601 [email protected] Dear Mr. Higgins: 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.



This claim is categorically false. Florida's Heartbeat Protection Act does not prohibit abortion if a physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is less than 6 weeks. § 390.

0111(1), Fla. Stat. After 6 weeks, an abortion may be performed if “*[t]wo physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save the pregnant woman's life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

Back to Health Page