Supreme Court Victory for Pregnancy Centers Defends Life and Free Speech

By Frank Pavone
Monday, 22 December 2025 03:52 PM EST

Pregnancy resource centers exist solely to help mothers choose life in unexpected or trying circumstances. The reason abortion advocates so frequently target these centers is very simple: every life saved is money taken away from the abortion industry.

The latest attack on the centers recently made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and even abortion rights-friendly legacy media has had to admit this case looks like a slam dunk in favor of the centers. Justices heard arguments earlier this month in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin. The case involves New Jersey’s attempt to obtain information on exactly who donates to the network of help centers.

First Choice sought to challenge the subpoena in federal court, arguing it violated its First Amendment rights. However, a federal district judge in Trenton ruled that only a state court has authority to enforce or block such a subpoena. Later, a state court directed First Choice to “respond fully” to New Jersey’s demands. Before reaching the Supreme Court, the case returned to federal district and appeals courts.

One key point debated before the justices concerned whether potential donors might be deterred if they knew their names, phone numbers, addresses, and other details could be disclosed by New Jersey. Chief Justice John Roberts asked Sundeep Ilyer, who argued for New Jersey: “You don’t think it might have an effect on future potential donors… to know that their name, phone number, address, et cetera could be disclosed?”

This approach represents a radical kind of tyranny. We fully expect a victory in this case but anticipate it will not be the last time the pregnancy help movement faces such challenges.

Anyone paying attention to the anti-abortion movement recognizes First Choice is part of a broader pattern. My organization previously litigated National Institute for Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, 585 U.S. 755 (2018), which centered on what pregnancy centers must disclose to clients. Specifically, California mandated these centers inform women about abortion options—a requirement likened by the court to forcing Alcoholics Anonymous to provide liquor store addresses. NIFLA and pro-life advocates won that case.

In 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Heartbeat International and eleven pregnancy centers in state court to prevent them from explaining abortion pill reversal procedures that can save babies after chemical abortions begin. James argued, “Abortions cannot be reversed.” Yet thousands of babies have been saved using medically proven progesterone-based reversal techniques. NIFLA later intervened to protect the centers’ First Amendment rights in this matter. On Dec. 1, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the pregnancy centers, affirming their constitutional right to free speech.

What links these cases is that they address whether abortion should be legal or banned—instead, they defend the First Amendment rights of Americans to save lives, speak for the unborn, and associate with others pursuing similar goals.

While legacy media often claims President Trump has softened his stance on abortion compared to his first term, they overlook how his commitment to protecting constitutional speech has provided tools to reduce—and ultimately end—abortion. The president consistently argued that federal governments should not pressure private companies to suppress lawful speech, curbed government mandates for social media censorship, and expanded religious exemptions from regulations requiring employers or institutions to act against their moral convictions. He also stopped enforcement of the Johnson amendment to allow clergy greater freedom in discussing elections.

Critically, President Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his first term, shifting the Court’s ideological balance toward life and constitutional principles. A victory in First Choice will uphold both the right to life and the freedom to speak our minds—and mark another gift from the greatest president in our lifetimes.

Frank Pavone is an anti-abortion leader and national director of Priests for Life.