Supreme Court sides with anti-abortion center raising First Amendment
fears about state probe
[April 30, 2026]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a
faith-based pregnancy center that raised First Amendment concerns about
an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions.
The high court's unanimous ruling is a procedural victory for First
Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which is challenging a New Jersey
investigation of its practices.
The conservative-majority court has given abortion opponents
high-profile wins in recent years, most notably the watershed case that
overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022. First Choice,
though, had also drawn support from the American Civil Liberties Union,
which supports abortion rights but backed the group's First Amendment
concerns.
The Supreme Court's decision lets First Choice sue over a state-issued
subpoena in federal court, though the ruling does not resolve the
underlying case.
Lawyer Erin Hawley with the Alliance Defending Freedom argued the case,
and said the group looks forward to taking up the case in federal court
if New Jersey's attorney general decides to "continue these efforts on
remand.”
Facilities often known as “crisis pregnancy centers” have been on the
rise in the United States as Republican-controlled states enforce bans
or restrictions on abortion and some steer tax dollars to the centers,
which provide prenatal care and steer women to carrying pregnancies to
term.
As Democratic-leaning states seek to protect abortion access, several
have investigated whether the anti-abortion centers mislead women,
including by implying they offer abortions.
In New Jersey, then-Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin sent a
subpoena asking for donor lists and other information.
First Choice pushed back, arguing the investigation was baseless and the
demand for donor lists threatened their First Amendment rights to free
speech and association. They tried to challenge the subpoena in federal
court, but a judge found the case was not yet far enough along. An
appeals court agreed.
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The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Friday, April 17, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
First Choice then turned to the Supreme Court.
They argued access to federal court is important in cases where
government investigators are accused of misusing state power, and
the ACLU agreed that subpoenas seeking donor information can scare
away supporters.
The state argued that the information would only be used to ask
donors whether they had been deceived about First Choice’s services,
and the subpoena could not have threatened their First Amendment
rights because the group hadn’t yet been required to turn over any
information.
A court order is required to enforce the subpoena, and the judge
overseeing the underlying case has so far only ordered the two sides
to negotiate.
New Jersey also argued that allowing First Choice to sue could usher
in a glut of lawsuits from the thousands of businesses that get
similar subpoenas.
The Trump administration weighed in to support First Choice. The
Justice Department argued that any impact would be relatively small
since the decision would only apply to groups with similar First
Amendment arguments.
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