Chicago, IL - Two leading pro-life pregnancy center networks, Heartbeat International and Care Net, are urging the United States Supreme Court to halt New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s “sweeping subpoena” demanding private communications from a pro-life pregnancy center and its affiliated associations. Thomas More Society attorneys submitted the amici curiae brief for Heartbeat International and Care Net in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin.  

Attorney General Platkin’s subpoena does not simply affect a single center in a single state. The subpoena, as TMS attorneys note in the brief, demands disclosure of private emails, texts, and phone records between First Choice and nationwide pregnancy help networks, Heartbeat International and Care Net.  

Heartbeat International and Care Net, whose networks together span more than 4,800 affiliates, including First Choice, are dedicated to providing women with personal, material, educational, and spiritual resources needed during pregnancy. Their collective mission is to ensure that every woman feels loved and supported through her pregnancy, offering practical alternatives and compassionate care in communities nationwide.

“The New Jersey Attorney General’s baseless attempt to eavesdrop on and deter citizens’ private communications strikes at the heart of why we have the First Amendment,” said Christopher Galiardo, Staff Counsel at Thomas More Society.

Pregnancy help networks and their affiliates have faced a slew of politically motivated investigations, targeted laws, and lawsuits in California, Illinois, New York, and elsewhere. Heartbeat International, specifically, has been singled out in such actions, and is currently being defended by Thomas More Society in two lawsuits brought by the attorneys general of California and New York, targeting their ability to promote the life-saving Abortion Pill Reversal protocol.

“New Jersey’s sweeping subpoena is a fishing expedition that seeks to surveil these pro-life ministries and is part of a pattern to stifle their ability to provide help and hope to women in need,” said Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at Thomas More Society. “This pattern of politically motivated investigations and lawfare is designed to chill, punish, and ultimately silence pregnancy help ministries across the country.”

“We urge the Supreme Court to protect the freedom of speech, association, and charitable outreach against this example of government overreach.”

Read the friends-of-court brief filed with the United States Supreme Court by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Heartbeat International and Care Net, here.