Becket filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the Supreme Court late yesterday in support of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a pro-life Christian ministry in New Jersey that has spent four decades serving women facing unplanned pregnancies. In First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, the state’s attorney general tried to force First Choice to disclose how it applies its statement of faith to employees and volunteers, works with churches to support its ministry, relates to other pro-life organizations, and how it explains what God is doing in its ministry—without a single complaint or any evidence of wrongdoing. Becket is asking the Justices to protect the rights of ministries like First Choice from being dragged into court over their religious beliefs.
Since 1985, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers has accompanied thousands of new and expecting mothers in their time of need, providing counseling, medical services, and tangible support like baby clothes, diapers, maternity clothes, and food. Through its ministries, First Choice has assisted over 36,000 women across New Jersey and has also provided educational programs to thousands of high school students. At its heart, First Choice is a pro-life, faith-based organization. All employees, board members, and volunteers adhere to a statement of faith, vowing to uphold the dignity of every person from conception to natural death.
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“The First Amendment prohibits New Jersey from trolling through First Choice’s religious-mission decisions and thereby threatening its life-affirming work,” said William Haun, senior counsel at Becket. “We are asking the Court to ensure that state officials respect internal religious decisions, not sabotage First Choice’s honorable mission of serving women in need.”
In 2023, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin tried to drag First Choice into court with an aggressive, wide-ranging investigation. The move was part of a broader campaign Platkin launched in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to target pro-life pregnancy centers. His demands included the names tied to roughly 5,000 contributions along with over a decade of internal records, private communications with churches and supporters, faith-based policies for staff and volunteers, and the materials the ministry uses to counsel women. Platkin made these sweeping demands without identifying a single complaint or pointing to any evidence that First Choice was violating the law. Becket is asking the Court to protect the rights of faith-based ministries from being forced into court over their religious beliefs.
“Self-government requires respect for the independence of religious institutions, not subjecting their religious decisions to state scrutiny,” said Haun. “Religious ministries exist to serve a higher authority than a New Jersey bureaucrat. The Court should end New Jersey’s unnecessary and unconstitutional intrusion.”
Oral argument in the case is expected in the fall.
The post Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Go to Supreme Court Fight New Jersey’s Harassment and Threats appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Author: Ryan Colby
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