WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� said Monday it will hear from a faith-based pregnancy center in New Jersey challenging a state investigation into whether it misled people into thinking its services included referrals for abortion.
The justices agreed to consider an appeal from First Choice Women鈥檚 Resource Centers, which wants to block a 2023 subpoena from seeking information about donors, advertisements and medical personnel. It has not yet been served.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case nearly three years after . Since then, most Republican-controlled states have started , and most Democrat-dominated ones have sought to protect abortion access.
Attorneys for First Choice Women鈥檚 Resource Centers had described the organization as a 鈥渇aith-based, pro-life pregnancy center.鈥� generally try to steer women facing an unwanted pregnancy away from choosing an abortion.
The group challenged the subpoena in federal court, but a judge found that the case wasn鈥檛 yet far enough along to weigh in. An appeals court agreed.
First Choice Women鈥檚 Resource Centers appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the push for donor information had chilled its First Amendment rights.
鈥淪tate attorneys general on both sides of the political aisle have been accused of misusing this authority to issue demands against their ideological and political opponents," its lawyers wrote. 鈥淓ven if these accusations turn out to be false, it is important that a federal forum exists for suits challenging those investigative demands.鈥�
Meanwhile, Platkin has sought to enforce the subpoena in state court, but the judge there has so far refused the state鈥檚 push to require the group to turn over documents and told the two sides to negotiate instead.
The state had asked the justices to pass on the case, saying it doesn鈥檛 present the kind of significant lower-court controversy that requires the justices to step in.
鈥淭he decision below is correct and does not have the impacts petitioner alleges,鈥� state attorneys wrote. The attorney general's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The court will hear arguments in the case in the fall.
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Associated Press writer Mike Catalini in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this story.
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Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at .
Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
