The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Wednesday that faith-based pregnancy centers in New Jersey can challenge the state’s subpoena for donor records in federal court, preventing the state from moving ahead to enforce the effort.
Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the unanimous opinion, writing:
“An official demand for private donor information is enough to discourage reasonable individuals from associating with a group. Whether the subpoena’s demands and penalties were immediately enforceable or contingent on future court action, donors would reasonably fear disclosure and hesitate to associate.”
Pro-life groups and religious freedom legal organizations applauded the court’s 9-0 ruling.
“This is a triumph for every faith-based ministry in America,” said William Haun, senior counsel at Becket. “The Court made crystal clear that our First Amendment freedoms—including religious freedom—are ‘necessarily’ associative, and that keeps the federal courthouse doors open for religious groups to protect their governance from intrusive state bureaucrats.”
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has rightly ruled that organizations can challenge unlawful state demands in federal court. The New Jersey Attorney General’s subpoena violates the First Amendment by demanding First Choice Women’s Resource Centers break the confidentiality of its donors and associates without any evidence of wrongdoing or any compelling need. The government has no business harassing pro-life ministries and its supporters because it disagrees with their pro-life cause.”
Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International, which submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in support of First Choice, said:
“Today’s 9-0 decision is a powerful and unanimous affirmation that constitutional freedoms do not disappear simply because someone holds pro-life or Christian convictions. Every single Justice of the United States Supreme Court stood on the side of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers and against government overreach that sought to intimidate and silence faith-based pregnancy help organizations.”
“This ruling makes clear that no attorney general, no matter how politically motivated, can weaponize the power of the state to punish those who protect life and serve women with compassion. We celebrate this victory not only for First Choice, but for every pregnancy help organization, donor, and ministry across the nation that deserves the freedom to live out its mission without fear.”
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