Construction continues on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, with flowers in the foreground, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
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Mariam Zuhaib/AP
WASHINGTON — A faith-based pregnancy center will head to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to challenge an investigation into whether it misled people by discouraging abortion.
Facilities often known as “crisis pregnancy centers” are on the rise in the US, especially since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned abortion as a nationwide right in 2022. Most Republican-controlled states have since begun enacting bans or restrictions on abortion, and some have increased tax dollars at the centers. They generally provide prenatal care and encourage women to carry their pregnancies to term.
Several Democratic-aligned states have sought to protect abortion access and some have investigated whether pregnancy centers mislead women into thinking they offer abortions. In New Jersey, Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin sent a subpoena to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers for donor information.
First Choice pushed back, arguing that the investigation was baseless and that demanding the donor list jeopardized their First Amendment rights. He tried to challenge the subpoena in federal court, but a judge found the case did not go far enough. An appeals court agreed.
The first choice then turned to the Supreme Court. Executive Director Amy Huber said she hopes the high court rules in their favor and sends a message that protects facilities like theirs. “I would hope that other attorneys general who have sued or harassed other pregnancy centers, or are considering suing them, will step back as a result of our legal fight,” she said.
New Jersey believes First Choice is demanding special treatment. The group also did not have to hand over any records because the judge overseeing the case has not ordered it. “The subpoena does not require the petitioner to do anything, and compliance is entirely voluntary,” state lawyers wrote in court documents.
If the Supreme Court sides with First Choice, it would “open the federal courts to litigation challenging myriad state and local subpoenas,” he argued.
First Choice said access to federal court is important in cases where government investigators are accused of abusing investigative powers. The American Civil Liberties Union joined the case in support of First Choice’s free speech argument.
Erin Hawley, an attorney with the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said the subpoenas could harm advocacy groups with unpopular viewpoints. “This is a broader non-ideological issue that really transcends ideological boundaries,” he said.
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