Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Sues NJ Attorney General Over 'Unconstitutional Supoena'
A New Jersey non-profit pregnancy resource center is suing Attorney General Matthew Platkin over an "unconstitutional subpoena" issued last month claiming they were singled out based on its "religious speech and pro-life views."
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit on behalf of First Choice Women's Resource Centers, a Christian, pro-life, medical nonprofit, to block a subpoena issued by Platkin that requires the organization to produce extensive documentation or face judicial sanctions.
The AG's subpoena alleges potential violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, although he has provided no complaint or evidence suggesting that First Choice has engaged in unlawful or unethical actions.
Platkin has requested 10 years of documentation which would require First Choice to dedicate an inordinate amount of time and resources to comply.
"The information and documentation demanded by AG Platkin's subpoena is so overbroad, it would sweep up massive amounts of information, confidential internal communications, and documents unrelated to his stated purpose for the investigation," reads the lawsuit.
First Choice noted that donor anonymity is important to their organization and they are worried that if they do comply it would decrease their donations and they also fear those donors may face retaliation or public exposure.
"It's unlawful for New Jersey's attorney general to use the authority of his office to harm those with whom he disagrees," said Lincoln Wilson, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, in a Monday statement.
"Attorney General Platkin has aligned himself with Planned Parenthood's pro-abortion mission and even enlisted its help to target pro-life pregnancy centers like our client First Choice," he added.
According to the ADF, Platkin sought help from Planned Parenthood to draft his office's consumer alert warning New Jerseyans about pregnancy centers.
"WARNING: Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) do NOT provide abortion care," the alert said. "CPCs are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care and contraception."
The non-profit attorney group says the AG's subpoena violates the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and is designed to leverage the threat of sanctions under New Jersey law to frustrate First Choice's pro-life ministry.
" The U.S. Constitution protects First Choice Ministry's right to freely speak its beliefs, freely exercise its faith, freely associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide its free services in a caring and compassionate environment to women and men facing difficult pregnancy circumstances," Wilson said.
First Choice said Platkin is "persistently and aggressively impugning the motives of pro-life entities like First Choice and accusing them of misleading their clients."
"First Choice has been singled out as a target of AG Platkin's demands even though dozens of other organizations operating in New Jersey also advertise their provision of many similar services and similarly collect sensitive client information," the group said.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office insisted that "our subpoena does not violate their rights, and we are confident that the courts will agree."
"Under longstanding New Jersey law, non-profits operating in our state cannot engage in deception about the work they do," the spokesperson said. "New Jersey law provides the Attorney General clear authority to investigate non-profits that may be violating those requirements. By filing this lawsuit, First Choice is refusing to even answer questions about its candor and its operations."
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
