Blue State Continues Attacking Pregnancy Centers After Recent Supreme Court Ruling
After the Supreme Court ruled that a pro-life pregnancy center in New Jersey had the right to challenge a state order demanding that they hand over their donor list, the state government reiterated its desire to obtain the list.
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of First Choice Women’s Center last week, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing for the unanimous majority that “an official demand for private donor information is enough to discourage reasonable individuals from associating with a group,” per a report from The Christian Post.
New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Jennifer Davenport immediately sent a letter to Superior Court Judge Lisa Adubato demanding that the legal battle continue.
“The Court determined that First Choice has Article III standing to proceed with a federal-court challenge to the Division of Consumer Affairs’ November 15, 2023 subpoena at issue in this case,” Davenport wrote.
“The Court, however, did not ‘decide the merits of First Choice’s’ challenge to the Subpoena,” she noted. “This Court should now proceed to resolve the enforceability of that Subpoena.”
Davenport contended that “there is no basis for this Court to stay its hand while the federal-court litigation proceeds simultaneously.”
Erin Hawley, the attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom who argued the case before the Supreme Court, said in a statement that Davenport was seeking to defy the Supreme Court decision.
“New Jersey’s attorney general is doubling down on her predecessor’s hostile crusade to keep First Choice from vindicating its First Amendment rights in federal court,” she asserted.
BREAKING: First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, represented by @ADFLegal, has WON its Supreme Court case against the NJ attorney general in a unanimous 9-0 decision.
This outcome isn’t just a rejection of lawfare against pro-life pregnancy centers—it’s a win for EVERY… pic.twitter.com/4tHguXROVw
— Kristen Waggoner (@KristenWaggoner) April 29, 2026
“Just one day after the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that her office’s donor demands burden the ministry’s First Amendment rights, Attorney General Davenport requested that the state court fast-track its enforcement proceedings to preempt the federal court’s review,” she said.
“That move disregards the Supreme Court’s ruling and underscores the stark reality of this case: For more than two years, New Jersey state officials have targeted First Choice simply because they dislike its pro-life views.”
Hawley emphasized, “But this week, the Supreme Court sent a clear message: First Choice is entitled to its day in federal court.”
The Christian Post noted that 17 Democratic attorneys general signed a letter in 2023 claiming that anti-abortion pregnancy centers spread “misinformation and harm” by purportedly “misleading consumers and delaying access” to abortion.
Now-former New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin had claimed at the time that he wanted to “contact a representative sample” of First Choice’s donors to see if they had “been misled” about the organization’s “mission and operations,” per a report from the New York Post.
Gorsuch added in his opinion that “in his view, First Choice’s solicitation materials — including a donation webpage featuring pictures of parents holding infants and young children… could mislead donors into thinking First Choice provides abortions.”
He added that “over and again, we have held those demands burden the exercise of First Amendment rights.”
“The Attorney General has offered a variety of arguments. Some are old, some are new, but none succeeds,” Gorsuch said.
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