Had threatened pro-life centers if they did not reveal huge volumes of private information about donors
By Bob Unruh
A unanimous Supreme Court has put a block in front of an anti-life scheme by the state of New Jersey that involves demands from authorities for pro-life centers to provide to pro-abortion activists in state government the names, phone numbers, addresses and places of employment of many of their donors.
The ruling found that such a demand implicates the First Amendment by chilling the pregnancy centers’ speech and association rights.
The fight was on behalf of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which includes five faith-based pregnancy centers in the state.
State Attorney General Matthew Platkin had demanded a coercive subpoena, insisting on full access to the centers’ private information.
“In this resounding victory, the Supreme Court held to its long-standing precedent of recognizing that the Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from demands by a hostile state official to disclose donor identities and contact information,” said lawyer, Erin Hawley, of the ADF, which represented the centers.
“New Jersey’s attorney general targeted First Choice—a ministry that provides parenting classes, free ultrasounds, baby clothes, and more to its community—simply because of its pro-life views. That is blatantly unconstitutional. Should the Attorney General continue these efforts on remand, we look forward to presenting First Choice’s case in federal court.”