WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Wednesday siding with First Choice Women's Resource Centers, a faith-based pregnancy center, allowing it to sue in federal court to challenge a New Jersey subpoena seeking donor information. The procedural victory permits the group to pursue First Amendment claims tied to a state investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin sent the subpoena requesting donor lists and other information from First Choice Women's Resource Centers. The group argued that the investigation was baseless and that the subpoena for donor lists threatened its First Amendment rights to free speech and association.

A federal district court judge ruled that the challenge to the subpoena was not sufficiently developed to proceed, and a federal appeals court affirmed that ruling. First Choice Women's Resource Centers then petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that federal court access is necessary when government investigators are accused of misusing state power.

New Jersey argued that the subpoenaed information would be used only to ask donors whether they had been deceived about the group's services, and that the subpoena did not threaten First Amendment rights because the group had not been required to turn over any information. A court order is required to enforce the subpoena, and a judge overseeing the underlying New Jersey case ordered the parties to negotiate before enforcement. The state also argued that permitting the lawsuit could lead to a large number of similar suits from businesses receiving subpoenas.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a brief supporting First Choice Women's Resource Centers, arguing that the decision's impact would be limited to groups with similar First Amendment claims. The American Civil Liberties Union, which supports abortion rights, also backed the group's First Amendment concerns and stated that subpoenas seeking donor information can deter supporters.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022. The number of crisis pregnancy centers in the United States, which provide prenatal care and refer women to carry pregnancies to term, has increased as Republican-controlled states enforce abortion bans or restrictions and allocate tax dollars to the centers. Democratic-leaning states have investigated whether anti-abortion centers mislead women, including by implying they offer abortions.