Supreme Court unanimously rules faith-based pregnancy centers may challenge New Jersey attorney general's subpoena in federal court

The Supreme Court's decision reversed a ruling by the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals, which had found that First Choice's claims were not yet ripe for federal review. New Jersey had argued its subpoena was not "self-executing" and that, because no state court had yet ordered document production under threat of contempt, federal intervention was premature. The Supreme Court rejected that argument.

Justice Gorsuch, writing for a unanimous court, said the attorney general's demands burdened First Amendment rights under longstanding precedent. "Since the 1950s, this court has confronted one official demand after another like the Attorney General's," Gorsuch wrote. "Over and again, we have held those demands burden the exercise of First Amendment rights. Disputing none of these precedents but seeking ways around them, the Attorney General has offered a variety of arguments. Some are old, some are new, but none succeeds."

The state had opened its investigation over whether the nonprofit's marketing left some patients with the impression they could receive abortions at its facilities. First Choice, which provides prenatal services, parenting classes, free ultrasounds, and baby supplies, argued the subpoena was issued without any formal complaints from donors or clients and constituted an unwarranted investigation into its private donor information.