WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Two Florida health care workers have lost their ability to practice after making politically charged social media posts about Republicans, raising questions about whether the state's actions violate First Amendment rights.
WATCH BELOW: 'That's not enough to justify the state barring her from an entire profession,' Aaron Terr tells WPTV's Kate Hussey
WPTV first reported in January on the suspension of Boca Raton nurse Lexie Lawler's license. Now, a second case involving nurse Erik Baylor Martindale has emerged, prompting civil liberties advocates to question where the line should be drawn between professional standards and free speech protections.
The controversy began when Lawler, a labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Health, was fired after posting a 14-second video online. In the video, she said she hoped White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt would suffer serious childbirth complications after Leavitt announced she was expecting a baby.
"The question is does the hospital have a right to make those judgment calls about their employees… and their argument is, yes I do," attorney Michelle Suskauer told WPTV's Joel Lopez.
WATCH BELOW: Nurse barred from practicing in Florida after viral comments
As a private employer, Baptist Health had the right to decide who represents its brand. However, the state then stepped in.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced days later that Lawler's nursing license was suspended, saying her comments crossed an ethical line.
"You should be nowhere near a patient," Uthmeier said.
That same week, Uthmeier posted that another nurse, Erik Baylor Martindale, was "no longer a registered nurse in Florida," stating that healthcare is "not contingent on political beliefs." As of Feb. 9, the state's Department of Health database shows his license was "voluntarily relinquished."
WATCH BELOW: Florida nurse barred after social media post
Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for FIRE, an advocacy group that has represented more than 1,000 civil liberties cases, said the state can impose licensing requirements to uphold professional standards, but those standards must comply with the First Amendment.
"The Supreme Court has recognized the danger in allowing regulation of what professionals say, because it invites the state to punish speech it doesn't like instead of actual misconduct," Terr said.
While Terr doesn't believe either nurse's comments fall into an exception to First Amendment rights, he said the two cases are different, because Martindale appeared to make comments that would affect patient care.
"He's not merely expressing a viewpoint considered harsher, cruel or offensive about someone, he's actually saying he's going to deny medical care to patients based on their political beliefs," Terr said.
WATCH BELOW: 'We're dealing with a political climate that is very, very hot,' Attorney Michelle Suskauer tells WPTV
In Lawler's case, Terr argues her comments were still just political speech.
"All she really did was criticize or express contempt for a government official. Now some people may find that speech ugly or even deeply offensive," Terr said. "But that's not enough to justify the state barring her from an entire profession."
Uthmeier defended the state's position, saying the concern is that the comments directly relate to their work and their ability to do the job.
"This is not a free speech issue. If you are a hospital delivery nurse — you hope somebody gets ripped open in half in childbirth, because of her partisanship? That's not free speech. That shows you should be nowhere near a patient," Uthmeier said. "You can have free speech but when you're talking about harm to patients in the very line of work where you have a medical license — that's dangerous and that exposes people."
Lee Rowland, executive director for the National Coalition Against Censorship, doesn't fully disagree with Uthmeier.
Boca Raton
Nurse barred from practicing in Florida after viral comments
"I think professional licensure does, under the First Amendment, give the government more ability to regulate speech or the provision of care," Rowland said. "The medical field is just different. So that license involves the provision of care, and frankly, I don't think it's bonkers to suggest that if the public feels that they can't get care from that person, that that may be a denial of care."
However, Rowland said the bar for removal should be incredibly high, and both she and Terr warn licenses shouldn't be taken without giving workers a fair chance to defend themselves.
"That is a property interest protected by the due process clause of the Constitution, which means that the government can't arbitrarily revoke it from you without providing you some sort of opportunity, some sort of process, an opportunity for the person to respond, to defend themselves," Terr said.
"Not 'we're just going to yank your license, because you said something controversial,' but 'we've actually investigated, and you do intend to deprive people of care,'" Rowland said.
Boca Raton
Nurse fired for viral video targeting Trump press secretary
I reached out to the Florida Department of Health to ask whether either nurse was given due process, including an investigation or hearing, but have not received a response.
Both Lawler and Martindale declined to comment.
"I think the question we keep getting is, where do you draw the line, and where does the government's power stop?" I asked Terr.
"Right. And I think the line is, are you expressing a political opinion or viewpoint that may happen to be controversial or unpopular? Or are you saying something that crosses the line into making a true threat of harm against an individual or group?" Terr said.
This comes as at least two lawsuits have been filed in Florida over government employees fired for comments about Charlie Kirk, claiming the state or local governments violated their First Amendment rights, fueling broader questions about free speech in Florida.
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