A non-profit pregnancy resource center filed a lawsuit against New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Monday over what it called an “unconstitutional subpoena” issued by his office last month.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Platkin issued a subpoena to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers on Nov. 15, alleging potential violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. It demanded documents dating back 2013, including copies of solicitation and advertisement.
First Choice, a Christian faith-based organization, said in its lawsuit on Dec. 13 that Mr. Platkin did not cite “any complaint or other substantive evidence of wrongdoing” to justify his demands.
“The information and documentation demanded by AG Platkin’s subpoena is so overbroad, it would sweep up massive amounts of information, confidential internal communications, and documents unrelated to his stated purpose for the investigation,” it stated.
First Choice stated that Mr. Platkin has repeatedly allied himself with organizations that perform abortions “while persistently and aggressively impugning the motives of pro-life entities like First Choice and accusing them of misleading their clients.”
“First Choice has been singled out as a target of AG Platkin’s demands even though dozens of other organizations operating in New Jersey also advertise their provision of many similar services and similarly collect sensitive client information.
“These demands violate First Choice’s rights protected by the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and should be enjoined,” the non-profit organization added.
First Choice said that complying with the subpoena would require a large deployment of staff and resources, and potentially lead to a decrease in donations. It noted that donors may fear retaliation and public exposure.
“Donor anonymity is of paramount importance to First Choice, as its donors give for personal or faith-driven reasons. First Choice therefore does not publish a list of donors or donation amounts,” it added.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represents the pregnancy resource center, said the state’s attorney general had “selectively targeted” First Choice based on its “religious speech and pro-life views.”
“It’s unlawful for New Jersey’s attorney general to use the authority of his office to harm those with whom he disagrees,” ADF Senior Counsel Lincoln Wilson said in a press release.
“Attorney General Platkin has aligned himself with Planned Parenthood’s pro-abortion mission and even enlisted its help to target pro-life pregnancy centers like our client First Choice,” Mr. Wilson added.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said that under the state’s law, non-profits in New Jersey “cannot engage in deception about the work they do” and the attorney general has “clear authority” to investigate non-profits that may be violating those requirements.
“By filing this lawsuit, First Choice is refusing to even answer questions about its candor and its operations,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email.
“But our subpoena does not violate their rights, and we are confident that the courts will agree.”
AG Allegedly Sought Help From Planned Parenthood
In the lawsuit, ADF alleged that Mr. Platkin sought assistance from Planned Parenthood in drafting his office’s consumer alert alleging that pregnancy care centers like First Choice provide misleading information.
“Through the alert, Defendant accuses pregnancy care centers of lying about the services they provide, providing inaccurate or misleading ultrasounds, and providing inaccurate information about reproductive health care services.
“Defendant urges women to avoid pregnancy care centers and explicitly encourages them to seek out abortion facilities instead, such as Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation,” the lawsuit reads.
Mr. Platkin also allegedly warned residents seeking reproductive care to beware of “Crisis Pregnancy Centers,” and accused pro-life pregnancy centers of “pretending to be legitimate medical facilities.”
The lawsuit came just weeks after ADF sued Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson on behalf of faith-based nonprofits Obria Group and Obria Medical Groups PNW on Nov. 30 to block his investigation into their operations.
ADF said Mr. Ferguson had issued “civil investigative demands” that dictate, for a time period exceeding 13 years, that the organizations provide information “under the pretense of conducting a civil investigation into possible violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.”
“As the lawsuit explains, the attorney general’s investigation does not appear to be based on a complaint or other substantive evidence of wrongdoing but is rather an exploratory probe into the lawful activities, constitutionally protected speech and associations, and nonpublic internal communications and records of two organizations that hold a disfavored view on a matter of public policy,” it stated.
From The Epoch Times
