• Posted June 17, 2025

Supreme Court Will Hear Case on NJ Probe Into Anti-Abortion Clinics

TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case next term involving a New Jersey nonprofit that runs anti-abortion pregnancy centers and is fighting a state investigation.

At the center of the case is First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which operates five clinics across the state. The group is challenging a subpoena from New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin that demands the names of nearly 5,000 donors.

First Choice argues the subpoena violates its First Amendment rights and those of its supporters. The group says requiring it to reveal donor names will discourage people from giving and expressing their beliefs, The Washington Post reported.

Donors’ names are not made public because abortion is such a politically charged subject, the organization said.

Platkin, a Democrat, began investigating First Choice in 2023. He said the clinics may have used misleading medical information and deceptive practices.

“The State noted medical statements on Petitioner’s websites that may be misleading or untrue,” Platkin said in a filing with the Supreme Court.

Critics of these types of clinics—often called pregnancy crisis centers — say they can appear similar to abortion clinics but are designed to steer people away from deciding on getting an abortion.

First Choice denies that it misleads people. It says it is open about its anti-abortion stance and offers services like free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and counseling, The Post added in its report.

The group took the case to federal court to block the subpoena. However, both a lower federal court and a federal appeals court said the case must go through state court first.

Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether federal courts should be allowed to review cases like this before a state court enforces a subpoena.

First Choice says the subpoena — whether enforced or not — has a chilling effect on donors.

“In recent years, state attorneys general have made increasing use of these broad investigative powers — sometimes employing them to target political opponents," the group explained.

On the same day, the Supreme Court also said a New York court must revisit a case involving religious groups that want to be exempt from a state rule requiring health insurance plans to cover abortion.

More information

Read the full docket on the Supreme Court's website.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, June 16, 2025