Florida state health agency comes out against abortion ballot amendment

The Florida state agency in charge of running its Medicaid program as well as licensing and regulating health providers is publicly targeting a ballot measure that would restore and codify abortion rights in the state, a move that critics say is a blatant violation of state law. 

A website launched by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) on Thursday openly blasted Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. 

The amendment “threatens women’s safety,” the website states, while current Florida law, which bans abortion after about six weeks gestation “protects women.” 

“Don’t let the fearmongers lie to you,” reads the top of the agency’s page. “Florida is protecting life.”  

The website uses language typically voiced by anti-abortion campaigns or politicians who oppose the amendment. It lists several “truths” about the amendment, while offering statistics about the procedure in the state.  

“We must keep Florida from becoming an abortion tourism destination state,” it states.  

It implies the amendment is vague and open-ended and could allow unregulated abortions at any point in pregnancy — an argument often made by those opposing the measure.  

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is one of the most vocal opponents of the measure and has launched a political action committee targeting it.  

A state panel, with members largely appointed by DeSantis, approved language for a required financial impact statement saying the initiative will have a negative impact on the state budget.

DeSantis oversees the health agency, but it is run by Jason Weida, a political appointee.  

In a post on social media, Weida promoted the new website, saying it was an effort to “combat the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws.” 

Similarly, the AHCA pushed back against the idea that it was improperly campaigning against the amendment and called the website a “transparency page” meant to educate Floridians. 

“Part of the Agency’s mission is to provide information and transparency to Floridians on the quality of care they receive,” the agency said in an unsigned statement to The Hill. “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.” 

But critics including state Democrats and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) disagreed. State Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said that using an official government agency for political campaigning is a “clear violation” of state law.  

The law states that no employee or officer of the state 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.” 

Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, called the website’s language a “desperate attempt to further spread misinformation” about the ballot measure. 

“With only 61 days before the election, launching misinformation about Amendment 4 is irresponsible and an attempt to sabotage the vote,” Jackson said in a statement. 

“This kind of propaganda issued by the state, using taxpayer money and operating outside of the political process sets a dangerous precedent,” she added. 

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the website was “anti-Amendment 4 … bulls‑‑‑.”

“Using state agency resources for campaign purposes is illegal, and we’re looking into any and all recourse to take this website down,” Fried said. 

Abortion is currently banned in Florida after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, which is usually around six weeks and often before many women know they are pregnant. The law has some exceptions for medical emergencies, including if the woman’s life is threatened.  

Amendment 4 would enshrine the right to abortion up to fetal viability into the state constitution, ending the current ban. 

A majority of Florida voters say they back the ballot measure, but it needs 60 percent to become law. 

Ben Wilcox, the research director for government watchdog group Integrity Florida, said the AHCA’s efforts are “extremely problematic.” 

“They’re using public dollars to campaign against a proposed constitutional amendment that is not supposed to be decided by the government. It’s supposed to be decided by the voters,” Wilcox said.  

“I’ve never seen a state agency, a publicly funded agency, put out a piece of information that, it’s essentially their opinion of what this constitutional amendment would do. I think it kind of smacks of desperation.”