The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear an appeal from First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a faith-based, pro-life pregnancy center in New Jersey. The center is challenging a 2023 subpoena issued by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, seeking information about its donors, advertisements, and medical staff as part of an investigation into whether the center misled the public by implying it provided abortion referrals.
First Choice has sought to block the subpoena, arguing it violates their First Amendment rights by chilling their free speech and religious expression. The center provides services such as parenting classes, free ultrasounds, and baby clothes, aiming to steer women away from abortion.
Lower courts declined to intervene, finding the case was not yet ripe for judicial review. Meanwhile, the New Jersey state court judge has so far refused to compel the center to comply with the subpoena and urged the parties to negotiate.
Attorney General Platkin criticized the center’s refusal to cooperate, emphasizing that no organization is exempt from complying with lawful subpoenas.
Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, First Choice argues that similar investigations have been misused politically and that defendants should be allowed to challenge such subpoenas in federal court.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the fall, marking one of the first major faith-based pregnancy center cases following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, which has intensified legal battles over abortion access and related services.
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