Supreme Court Rules for Pro-Life Centers: 'The Government Has No Business Harassing Pro-Life Ministries'

Lorie Johnson : May 1, 2026
CBN News

"The Supreme Court recognized...the government...can't harass those who support pro-life ministries." -First Choice Women's Resource Centers

[CBN News] Pro-life groups are celebrating after a chain of crisis pregnancy centers won a unanimous victory at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday. (Screengrab image: via CBN News)

The high court sided with First Choice Women's Resource Centers, a chain of New Jersey faith-based crisis pregnancy centers.

First Choice was fighting what they considered to be a bogus investigation brought on by the New Jersey attorney general that demanded the pro-life group hand over their donor list to include names, addresses, phone numbers, and even places of employment.

The Supreme Court ruled that faith-based pregnancy centers in New Jersey can challenge the state's subpoena in court. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the unanimous opinion, writing that New Jersey's move creates a chilling effect:

"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."

Alliance Defending Freedom's Erin Hawley represented the pregnancy centers before the high court. She called the ruling "a resounding victory," saying, "the Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from demands by a hostile state office."

First Choice added, "The Supreme Court recognized...the government...can't harass those who support pro-life ministries."

Autumn Christensen from Her Plan Pro-Life, said, "So as we're going into Mother's Day, this is a time when we should be celebrating moms and celebrating organizations that are helping moms."

Pro-life leaders say the ruling sets an important precedent. "We are so grateful to First Choice Women's Resource Centers for their willingness to stand up against these aggressive actions," Christensen said.

Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, also involved in the case, said the ruling assures citizens their privacy will be protected.

Becket's Ben Fleshman said, "It limits the ability of the government to go after the lists of donors and people who partner with organizations like First Choice or other really important nonprofits that are doing incredible work, but might be touching in controversial areas."

"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."

More pro-life groups and religious freedom legal organizations applauded the court's 9-0 ruling.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said:

"The US 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." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here