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Republican Politicians Are Obsessed With Lying About Planned Parenthood - Balls and Strikes
Balls and StrikesIf you’re looking for abortion care in New Jersey, you might accidentally find First Choice Women’s Resource Centers instead. First Choice operates five “crisis pregnancy centers” in the state which, according to their client-facing website, provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and information on abortion pills and in-clinic abortion procedures. The homepage features a photo of a woman who is wearing medical scrubs and has a stethoscope draped around her neck.
But First Choice is not an obstetrical medical practice. It does not provide abortions, and will not refer people to medical clinics that do. And First Choice is not a real healthcare provider: It’s an anti-abortion Christian nonprofit. According to its donor-facing website, First Choice is committed to “presenting the gospel of our Lord to women with crisis pregnancies” and “assisting women to carry to term.” (If you’ve already taken abortion medication, First Choice does offer “abortion pill reversal,” which is not a real thing.)
In 2023, as part of a post-Dobbs effort to shore up reproductive rights within the state, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin subpoenaed First Choice and demanded a substantial amount of information, including documents that show how the organization describes its purpose to would-be donors, and the identities of certain types of donors. First Choice responded with a federal lawsuit alleging that the subpoena chilled its First Amendment rights and requesting that the court protect its ability to “freely speak its beliefs, exercise its faith, associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide services in a caring and compassionate environment.”
But the district court dismissed First Choice’s lawsuit, and the appeals court affirmed the dismissal. The lower courts reasoned that First Choice’s case didn’t belong in federal court for two reasons: First, nothing had actually happened to the organization yet, and second, First Choice could make its case in the state court, where Platkin’s subpoena must be enforced. On Tuesday, December 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in First Choice Women’s Resource Center v. Platkin to decide in which court the organization can make its case.
But First Choice is not an obstetrical medical practice. It does not provide abortions, and will not refer people to medical clinics that do. And First Choice is not a real healthcare provider: It’s an anti-abortion Christian nonprofit. According to its donor-facing website, First Choice is committed to “presenting the gospel of our Lord to women with crisis pregnancies” and “assisting women to carry to term.” (If you’ve already taken abortion medication, First Choice does offer “abortion pill reversal,” which is not a real thing.)
In 2023, as part of a post-Dobbs effort to shore up reproductive rights within the state, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin subpoenaed First Choice and demanded a substantial amount of information, including documents that show how the organization describes its purpose to would-be donors, and the identities of certain types of donors. First Choice responded with a federal lawsuit alleging that the subpoena chilled its First Amendment rights and requesting that the court protect its ability to “freely speak its beliefs, exercise its faith, associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide services in a caring and compassionate environment.”
But the district court dismissed First Choice’s lawsuit, and the appeals court affirmed the dismissal. The lower courts reasoned that First Choice’s case didn’t belong in federal court for two reasons: First, nothing had actually happened to the organization yet, and second, First Choice could make its case in the state court, where Platkin’s subpoena must be enforced. On Tuesday, December 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in First Choice Women’s Resource Center v. Platkin to decide in which court the organization can make its case.
Republicans will take any excuse to peddle demented conspiracy theories about their least favorite healthcare provider
— Balls & Strikes (@ballsandstrikes.org) 2025-12-01T17:12:01.018Z