Legal Issue(s): NA
Case Description
On June 16, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear First Choice Women’s Resource Center v. Plakin to settle critical free speech and association rights questions.
In February, the Center urged the high court to hear the case when it filed its amicus brief in favor of First Choice’s right to be free of harassment from the state’s subpoena power. Specifically, the New Jersey state Attorney General (Platkin) served First Choice with a subpoena demanding it identify—by name—the donors behind nearly 5,000 donations and produce more than 10 years’ worth of documents containing information about the pregnancy center’s clients, staff, and every solicitation and advertisement it published.
The AG cited no violations of law, only a vague accusation that First Choice was misleading clients and donors. It is not surprising that both the New Jersey governor and the AG have been outspoken in their support of abortion and how the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade was a “devastating setback for women’s rights.” Abusing the First Amendment rights of pro-life pregnancy centers appears to be their way of advancing their views.
The outcome of this case will materially affect cases where the Center serves as counsel for two other crisis pregnancy centers in New Jersey with similar issues.
The First Choice case is set to be heard at some point in the court’s 2025-2026 term.
