by Noah Slayter
An organization that operates pro-life pregnancy centers in New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving what the centers’ petition calls an “improper” and “unlawful” subpoena by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal firm known as ADF, filed a petition with the high court Feb. 26 on behalf of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, asking it to force a lower court to hear the case.
A federal district court judge dismissed the pregnancy resource organization’s case Feb. 15, citing “lack of jurisdiction.”
In December, Platkin, a Democrat, subpoenaed First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which operates five pregnancy centers by that name in the state, over what he called potential violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
“With zero justification, the attorney general is unlawfully targeting and harassing First Choice, simply because the resources it provides help women in need continue their pregnancies rather than abort their unborn children,” ADF legal counsel Tim Garrison said Friday in a written statement to The Daily Signal.
The District Court incorrectly denied First Choice’s right “to address their claims in federal court,” Garrison said, “and should not affirm AG Platkin’s abuse of power after he initiated an illegitimate and harassing investigation without evidence.”
Garrison said pro-life pregnancy centers and pro-life advocates across the nation “hope that the Supreme Court will step in and provide relief, requiring the District Court to decide this case and resolve the issue in the lower courts.”
ADF’s lawsuit on behalf of First Choice argues that Platkin didn’t cite any complaints and is conducting an “exploratory probe.” This “improper” action violates the First Amendment rights of the pro-choice organization, the suit claims.
– – –
Noah Slayter is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation.
Photo “First Choice Women’s Resource Centers Building” by ADF.
