A Supreme Court Fight For Pro-life Centers

The Attorney General of New Jersey has launched an outright assault on First Choice Women’s Resource Centers—issuing burdensome and invasive subpoenas demanding confidential client and donor information. This is nothing less than blatant intimidation—an attempt to silence pro-life centers that dare to provide women with real alternatives to abortion.

Life Legal has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to stop this abuse of power.

The lower courts required First Choice to fight things out in state court first. But here’s the catch: once the state has ruled, federal courts won’t even hear the case. It’s a legal trap that guarantees pregnancy centers will never have their constitutional rights protected where they belong—in federal court.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case; now they need to hear our side.

Our brief makes clear: those whose basic freedoms are under attack have the right to the judicial forum of their choice. Pro-life groups have the right under federal law (42 U.S.C. section 1983) to go straight to federal court—without being forced to fight endless battles in a hostile state system such as New Jersey’s.

“Pro-life groups operating in ideologically hostile states need section 1983 to safeguard them from unconstitutional, government harassment.” 
-Life Legal Amicus Brief

If New Jersey succeeds, every attorney general in a pro-abortion state will have a blueprint to crush pregnancy centers nationwide.

Life Legal exists because babies can’t hire lawyers. We stand in the gap—for First Choice, and for every center that serves women and children with courage and compassion.