Supreme Court Takes Major Case as ACLJ Fights To Defend Pro-Life Centers Against the Left’s Unconstitutional Attacks

The Supreme Court just agreed to hear First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, challenging unconstitutional investigations by the New Jersey Attorney General into Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs), accusing PRCs of so-called “deceptive” practices, simply because these centers offer alternatives to abortion and support women during pregnancy.

Earlier this year, the ACLJ filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to take up this important case. It represents an opportunity to end the coordinated assaults that we see occuring on pro-life pregnancy centers by government officials determined to censor, investigate, and ultimately shut them down.

In our amicus brief, we explained that these government actions constitute blatant viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment because they are designed to punish pro-life pregnancy centers simply for expressing a viewpoint contrary to the pro-abortion narrative pushed by government officials and the abortion industry. We made clear that such government overreach threatens the ability of pro-life centers to offer free, life-affirming services to women and families in need.

Now that the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case, we will be filing another amicus brief which is due on August 14. We will continue defending the free speech rights of pro-life centers and ensuring they can serve women without government intimidation or censorship.

What’s happening in New Jersey is not an isolated event – it’s part of a growing, coordinated strategy by pro-abortion state and federal actors and activists to silence pro-life speech.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, PRCs have increasingly come under fierce scrutiny and attack. As one news article reported, pro-abortion advocates called for the Biden Administration to “crack down” on pregnancy centers nationwide. The article further states that “the administration and Democrats in Congress have pledged to combat disinformation and deceptive advertising by crisis pregnancy centers,” signaling an ominous willingness to weaponize government power against pro-life organizations.

And the Left has been following through on that promise. Even now that President Trump is in office, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Suzanne Bonamici introduced federal legislation targeting pro-life centers. As reported, Senator Warren has reintroduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act, which would empower the Federal Trade Commission to regulate pro-life pregnancy centers and impose significant fines for what it deems “false advertising.” Sen. Warren has claimed these centers are “tricking people into thinking they’re getting medical care,” declaring, “We should make it illegal to lure people in with lies.” Such rhetoric reveals the deep hostility and willingness to use federal power to silence life-affirming voices.

This push for federal regulation demonstrates that the attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers are not merely about alleged “deception.” They’re fundamentally about silencing a faith-based, life-affirming perspective that conflicts with the abortion industry’s narrative and financial interests.

Pro-abortion activists are explicitly hostile to the religious beliefs that motivate these life-affirming services. A 2023 report from the National Institute for Reproductive Health makes this clear, describing pro-life centers as “usually faith-based organizations” that operate “from an anti-abortion perspective grounded in religious beliefs,” and warning that “if left unchecked, their power and influence is likely to grow as legitimate abortion clinics shut down.”

Moreover, abortion is big business. As we previously wrote, Planned Parenthood’s 2023–2024 Annual Report shows the organization performed nearly 400,000 abortions, while its prenatal services dropped by 43% since 2016, and 63% since 2013, highlighting how abortion is increasingly central to its business model. Planned Parenthood reported over $2 billion in income and more than $2.5 billion in net assets, revealing the massive financial stakes. When women choose life and seek help from pro-life pregnancy centers instead, it directly threatens the abortion industry’s bottom line. It’s no surprise these groups and their allies in government want to silence pro-life alternatives.

We’re seeing this same troubling pattern unfold in Massachusetts, where we’ve filed a lawsuit to stop a government smear campaign against pro-life centers. State officials there launched a taxpayer-funded misinformation campaign, labeling pro-life centers as “deceptive” and a “threat to public health,” all while working hand-in-hand with pro-abortion activists.

These government efforts are not about consumer protection—they are blatant attempts to silence viewpoints that the abortion lobby opposes and represent a direct assault on free speech and religious liberty.

At the ACLJ, we will not stop fighting in the courts to protect PRCs and the rights of pro-life advocates who ensure that women across America can access life-affirming support without government interference. The stakes for free speech and the sanctity of life could not be higher.