Court Maintains Government Overreach Threatens First Amendment Freedoms
Washington, D.C. — In a landmark 9-0 decision on April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a network of faith-based pregnancy help organizations in New Jersey, affirming their right to challenge government overreach that threatens donor privacy and First Amendment freedoms.
Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion for the unanimous Court in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport. The ruling holds that First Choice has Article III standing to pursue its federal lawsuit against New Jersey’s Attorney General after the state issued a sweeping investigative subpoena demanding extensive private donor information.
Government Demand for Donor Lists Chills Free Association
At the center of the case is a subpoena from the New Jersey Attorney General’s office seeking names, contact details, and other personal information from donors to First Choice — many of whom gave quietly and without public disclosure. The demand came amid the state’s “Reproductive Rights Strike Force” and a consumer alert accusing pregnancy centers of deceptive practices, even though no specific complaints from donors or clients triggered the probe.
The Supreme Court recognized what pro-life advocates have long argued: Compelled disclosure of private donor information creates a real and immediate injury by chilling the First Amendment right to freedom of association.
“An official demand for private donor information is enough to discourage reasonable individuals from associating with a group,” Gorsuch wrote. “It is enough to discourage groups from expressing dissident views.” The opinion emphasized that associational rights “carry special significance for political, social, religious, and other minorities.”
This decision reverses lower court rulings that had dismissed the case and sends it back to federal district court, where First Choice can now argue the full merits of its claims that the subpoena violates their constitutional rights.
Who First Choice Serves
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers operates multiple locations across New Jersey and has served women and families since 1985. Like thousands of pregnancy help organizations nationwide, they offer free, confidential services including pregnancy counseling, ultrasounds, parenting education, and practical material support such as diapers, baby clothes, and formula. Their work is rooted in a faith-based mission to support women facing unplanned pregnancies and present life-affirming alternatives to abortion.
Donor Privacy and Religious Liberty
The ruling reinforces longstanding Supreme Court precedent protecting the privacy of supporters of controversial or minority viewpoints — from the NAACP during the civil rights era to religious and pro-life groups today.
Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents First Choice, welcomed the unanimous outcome as a strong defense of the ability of faith-based ministries to operate without fear of ideological targeting by state officials.
“In this resounding victory, the Supreme Court held to its long-standing precedent of recognizing that the Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from demands by a hostile state official to disclose donor identities and contact information,” said ADF Of Counsel Erin Hawley, who argued before the Supreme Court in December. “New Jersey’s attorney general targeted First Choice—a ministry that provides parenting classes, free ultrasounds, baby clothes, and more to its community—simply because of its pro-life views. That is blatantly unconstitutional. Should the Attorney General continue these efforts on remand, we look forward to presenting First Choice’s case in federal court.”
The case now returns to the lower court for further proceedings on whether the subpoena itself can stand under the First Amendment.
