Pro-life pregnancy centers targeted by Democratic state attorneys general are fighting back.
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers filed a lawsuit to block a subpoena issued by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin as part of his consumer-fraud probe, accusing him of singling out the Christian ministry “based on its religious speech and pro-life views.”
“It’s unlawful for New Jersey’s attorney general to use the authority of his office to harm those with whom he disagrees,” said Lincoln Wilson, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, in a Monday statement.
“Attorney General Platkin has aligned himself with Planned Parenthood’s pro-abortion mission and even enlisted its help to target pro-life pregnancy centers like our client First Choice,” he added.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for New Jersey, Trenton Vicinage, comes three weeks after ADF attorneys sued Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on behalf of a chain of pro-life clinics to block his investigation into their business practices.
Like Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Platkin is an outspoken abortion-rights supporter who zeroed in on pro-life pregnancy centers in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent policymaking on abortion back to the states.
First Choice, a Christian nonprofit organization with five offices founded in 1985, asked the judge to issue an injunction to block the attorney general’s “overbroad” subpoena, which requests documents dating back 10 years related to its “handling of patient data and statements about the lawful practice of Abortion Pill Reversal.”
“Defendant is engaged in an intrusive, oppressive, unnecessary, unjustified, and irrelevant investigation of First Choice’s organizational structure; personal information of leadership, volunteers, and personnel; associations; internal policies; irrelevant lawful activities; tax-exempt status; and other lawful aspects of First Choice’s operations and relationships,” said the complaint filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
The state’s subpoena also sought documents that identify First Choice’s donors, which “will likely result in a decrease in donations, as donors will be hesitant to associate with the Ministry out of fear of retaliation and public exposure,” the complaint said.
“First Choice has no reason to believe that it possesses information relevant to a violation of New Jersey law,” said the lawsuit.
“Defendant, however, has a well-documented zeal for abortion, strong antipathy toward organizations that protect pregnant women and unborn children from the harms of abortion, and a particular animus toward pregnancy resource centers like those operated by First Choice.”
In a Monday statement, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office insisted that “our subpoena does not violate their rights, and we are confident that the courts will agree.”
“Under longstanding New Jersey law, non-profits operating in our state cannot engage in deception about the work they do,” the spokesperson said. “New Jersey law provides the Attorney General clear authority to investigate non-profits that may be violating those requirements. By filing this lawsuit, First Choice is refusing to even answer questions about its candor and its operations.”
In December 2022, the state Division of Consumer Affairs issued an alert about “crisis pregnancy centers,” warning that they may provide “false or misleading information about abortion — including the physical and mental health effects of abortion — to deter people from choosing abortion.”
The filing included emails showing that the attorney general’s office sought input from Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union in drafting the alert, which includes contact information for Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation.
“WARNING: Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) do NOT provide abortion care,” the alert said. “CPCs are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care and contraception.”
First Choice offers a host of free services under the direction of a licensed physician, including limited obstetric ultrasounds, pregnancy testing, sexually transmitted disease testing, parent education, and products such as diapers and maternity clothes, but not abortions.
“First Choice does not perform or refer for abortions, which it states on its websites and in its welcome forms to clients; but it does provide medically accurate information about abortion procedures and risks,” the lawsuit states.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.