National Right to Life has praised a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing First Choice Women’s Resource Centers to challenge a New Jersey state investigation in federal court.

“The Supreme Court rightly recognized that government power cannot be used to intimidate or silence organizations simply because they offer life-affirming alternatives to abortion,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

The case involved a state subpoena seeking donor information and internal records from the faith-based pregnancy center. The Court’s ruling permits the organization to pursue its constitutional claims in federal court.

Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, the New Jersey affiliate of National Right to Life, stated. “The New Jersey Attorney General created a so-called ‘Reproductive Rights Strike Force’ and used it to target a pregnancy center that had not received a single public complaint. That is government overreach, plain and simple. Today the Supreme Court said: enough. Pregnancy centers have the right to fight back in federal court, and their donors have the right to give without fear of government retaliation.”

NRLC described the decision as an affirmation of First Amendment protections for pregnancy resource centers and their supporters. Pregnancy centers provide a range of services including material assistance, counseling, and support for women facing unexpected pregnancies.

The ruling has been cited by advocates as reinforcing protections for organizations that provide alternatives to abortion, as well as the rights of donors to support those efforts without government interference.

Read more here.