The story behind a pregnancy resource center’s Supreme Court win

This summer’s Supreme Court case, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport was about the state of New Jersey issuing a subpoena for the personal information of First Choice donors all in an attempt to intimidate the supporters’ pro-life mission. On April 29, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous victory for First Choice, upholding the ruling that First Choice could protect its First Amendment rights in federal court.

On today’s episode, Rachel Wiles, director of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project, speaks with Aimee about the Supreme Court case and the unique challenges of serving women and families in a state with one of the highest rates of abortion in the country.

Episode Transcript: The story behind a pregnancy resource center’s Supreme Court win

Narration:

Welcome to The ERLC Podcast, where our goal is to help you think biblically about today’s cultural issues. I’m Lindsay Nicolet, and today we’re talking to Aimee Huber, executive director of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Jersey.

This summer’s Supreme Court case, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport was about the state of New Jersey issuing a subpoena for the personal information of First Choice donors all in an attempt to intimidate the supporters’ pro-life mission. On April 29, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous victory for First Choice, upholding the ruling that First Choice could protect its First Amendment rights in federal court. On today’s episode, Rachel Wiles, director of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project, speaks with Aimee about the Supreme Court case and the unique challenges of serving women and families in a state with one of the highest rates of abortion in the country. Aimee Huber has served as the executive director of First Choice for over 30 years. She began volunteering in pro-life work before college and after graduating, she returned to New Jersey to continue serving on staff at First Choice. 

Now, let’s turn to Rachel Wiles’ conversation with Aimee Huber.

Rachel Wiles:

Well, thanks so much for joining us. I’m joined here with Aimee Huber and Gabby McIntyre. They have both been involved in the First Choice case that’s been before the Supreme Court, so thank you so much for joining us. Aimee, can you tell us just a little bit about yourself? What drew you into pro-life ministry? What are some of the milestones that now you can look back on and say, okay, the Lord used that to bring me where I am today?

Aimee Huber:

Sure, I’d be glad to. Thank you so much for having me, Rachel. My story is just wonderful how God weaves all things together, and my story really started a long time ago because my dad is a pastor and when I was 12 years old, he preached a message series on the sanctity of human life that convicted my heart. And I hadn’t had an abortion. I didn’t know anyone who had an abortion, but from the start it was like a calling for me. And so his heart was broken by what he had learned and in turn, it broke mine. And then, when I was in high school, the director of the pregnancy center where I serve now, First Choice, came and shared in our services about the ministry and I thought, well, that’s something I can do to help moms and babies. And so I was hired while I was in college. I started as a volunteer in high school and then was hired to be on staff when I was in college, and that was 35 years ago. So God has been faithful through my journey and through my story.

Rachel Wiles:

I love that. So you knew that this was going to be a call on your life probably from a very young age and how the Lord led you to that. Can you tell us a little bit about the center where you serve and the context of where it’s located? 

Aimee Huber:

First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, we celebrated our 40th anniversary just last year, and we have five locations in New Jersey—Jersey City, Montclair, Morristown, Newark, and New Brunswick. New Jersey has the fifth highest rate of abortion in our nation, so the need for our services is great, and we are thankful to be where we are to reach the women and the babies who need us.

Rachel Wiles:

So recently, your center, and thus you, have been in the news and before the Supreme Court, which is, I’m sure when you look back to sitting in your father’s church as a teenager, you never foresaw that this is the way things would go. But can you just kind of give us a little bit of the background, like what transpired, what brought this case forward? Just kind of give us the backstory for our listeners.

Aimee Huber:

Well, the attack on pregnancy centers in New Jersey started some time ago. We’ve always really known that our state leadership doesn’t love what we do, but it became more apparent when they established a reproductive rights task force that was meant to investigate pregnancy centers. And then a consumer alert was issued warning the public about quote unquote deceptive pregnancy centers. And it was four pages of allegations that really didn’t have any credibility or basis for what they were alleging. And so that all happened, and we were aware of it all. But then on November 15, 2023, those attacks became personal when a representative from the Attorney General’s office came to my office, asked for me, and handed me a subpoena. It was a pile of papers commanding us to release up to 10 years of documentation on our donor communications, our advertising, our donors’ identities, even their places of employment and contact information, our associational communications, just basically everything you can think of to investigate and to learn more about what we’re doing, they wanted to know.

And there were no allegations of wrongdoing. It was simply a fishing expedition by a hostile state official who disagreed with our pro-life views. And so that started our story on November of 2023. Since then, we’ve been in and out of a few different courtrooms and finally the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of our case, which was amazing because they grant review in less than 1% of the cases brought to them. So that was just an amazing thing. And exactly what you said is truthful. It’s never something I thought that I would be doing, but God has a way of selecting you when you didn’t realize that would happen. And so the question became, okay, if God has chosen us for this, then what does that mean in terms of us being obedient to him?

Rachel Wiles:

That’s incredible. So I’m just trying to imagine you sitting in your office that day doing your job, ministering to these women and these families that the Lord brought to you. What was your initial reaction? And then I know at some point you contacted a ADF. What does that look like when you’re like, okay, how does a center like mine respond to this request?

Aimee Huber:

I was surprised, but I wasn’t surprised at the same time because of how things had been heating up. So, it was like, okay, well this is the next step, I guess. And so I scanned the subpoena and sent it to two pro-life attorneys in our state that we’ve worked with before and asked them what I should do. And one of them contacted me and said, with your permission, I’d like to contact ADF and see if they would be interested in representing you. And so that’s how it started. We were already a member of ADF’s Church and Ministry Alliance. We had joined, I think, a year and a half prior just in case something crazy happened in the state of New Jersey. So that was obviously God’s preparation for that moment. And so I was already familiar with ADF. They had already reviewed all of our foundational documents and all of that. And then when that attorney called me the next day, I think I was in target shopping with my daughter and said ADF is interested in representing you, and they’ll be contacting you. And I just thought, oh boy, this just got bigger than I anticipated. Here we go.

And then we met, and the attorneys were amazing and our board of trustees was 100% supportive of moving forward. And so you just really see God’s fingerprints through the whole thing. 

Rachel Wiles:

I love that. Well, Gabby, if I can ask you a question about that, can you talk to our listeners? Several of them are involved in church ministry or even nonprofit organizations. Can you tell a little bit about ADF’s Church and Ministry Alliance? Because I think that’s a resource that a lot of people don’t know about.

Gabriella McIntyre:

Yeah, sure. So Aimee might even have a better handle on exactly what they do and the impact that they’ve had on individual centers. But our Church and Ministry Alliance exists for exactly this sort of thing, to prepare and to equip all of our allies in church and ministry. Pregnancy centers are included in that. We want to make sure their foundational documents are sound and they can comport with the mission of the organization and communicate that clearly so that, you know, for example, if something like this were to happen, then they feel equipped to be able to handle that. It’s also a great resource just to be connected with the ministry, with Alliance Defending Freedom. We are a law firm first and foremost, and so we exist to be here for our centers like First Choice and for other individuals and ministries who are facing, in this case, government harassment and infringement on their First Amendment rights.

And so having that connection is really important. And then also just having that foundational support when it comes to, in peaceful times, when you’re not litigating, just to make sure you have all your ducks in a row and are doing everything that you need to, to be equipped to prepare should something come down. But the hope is that that never will, but First Choice, as Aimee said, was chosen to stand in this moment and we’re just so proud to have stood with her all the way up to the Supreme Court and now back down.

Rachel Wiles:

Yeah, that’s incredible. Well, yeah, you kind of alluded to, and now back down. So Aimee, can you share with us, those who may not be following the ins and outs of all the court battles that are before the Supreme Court? You recently got a decision in your court case, so can you tell us how that came about? And then what was your reaction when you heard the news of the decision?

Aimee Huber:

Well, our oral argument on December 2 was an amazing opportunity just to go into the U.S. Supreme Court and to see the nine Justices and to hear Chief Justice Roberts announce First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin. It was just an amazing, amazing moment that I’ll never forget. And then another moment that I’ll never forget is on April 29 when the opinion was released, and I was in my office. This was the third time when we thought perhaps our opinion could be released. It had said on the website that the court may release opinions on that day. It was a Wednesday, and so at 10:00 a.m., I knew that the way it works apparently is that it’s announced from the bench and that it’s posted on the website. So I knew that our attorneys would call me if it was announced, but I couldn’t wait that long. So I was sitting at my desk at 10:00 a.m. on the Supreme Court website because I knew where the opinions would be posted.

And at 10:01, I’m refreshing, and at 10:02 I’m refreshing, nothing. And then I think it was at 10:03 that it appeared First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport because that’s our new Attorney General. And oh my goodness, to see it there, it was like, it’s here. It’s here. So I clicked on it, but then it seemed like forever because I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. It was 25 pages. And so I kept scrolling, and I’m sure it was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Then I saw on page three, “Justice Gorsuch, on behalf of a unanimous court,” and I just knew that that was really good and a really good victory because it was unanimous. And then several of the attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom called and we had just a joyful call together. So again, another moment I never thought that I would experience, but one that I’ll never forget.

Rachel Wiles:

Yeah, that’s incredible. And for those of you who are listening to this who have never followed the Supreme Court, it’s an interesting thing because you don’t know which cases are going to be released on which day. Here at the ERLC, we follow several cases, usually each year, and we write briefs or join briefs in several of those cases. And so on a decision day, we’ve got members of our staff doing the exact same thing that you were doing, refreshing pages. I vividly remember when we were waiting for the Dobbs decision several years ago. That was such a huge case, and just everybody going, “It’s here. We’ve got it, we’ve got it.” And then it is, it’s a lot of legal language to kind of sort through to try to figure out, okay, what is the crux of this case? So yeah, a unanimous decision, which is incredible. That must have been a huge sigh of relief and just like, okay, Lord, you brought us to this moment, and you’ve brought us through this moment. So Gabby, from the ADF perspective, what does that decision mean for pregnancy centers moving forward? Does it have ramifications beyond pregnancy centers for other groups? Just kind of explain to us what the court decided.

Gabriella McIntyre:

Absolutely. So, this is going to go down as one of the seminal cases about associational rights under the First Amendment, at least from our view. And we have broad support. I will mention too, before the Supreme Court, not just from pro-life pregnancy centers and pro-life individuals and groups, but also from organizations like the ACLU and organizations across the ideological spectrum. Because what was at issue in this case was when you have an ideologically opposed law enforcement official that is using the power of the government to investigate the donor names and identities of a nonprofit organization, you need to be able to hold them accountable in federal court. And the crux of this case before the Supreme Court was the issue of whether First Choice was entitled as the civil rights statute says it is to its day in federal court without having to be relegated to a state court proceeding in order to litigate its claims.

And the reason why that’s significant is because in places like New Jersey, for example, the governor will nominate the judges on the courts and then they are confirmed by the Senate. So, it could very well be that if you’re relegated to state court to try to indicate your constitutional rights and it’s your First Amendment, constitutional rights, which we’re very protective of in this country, that could be a home court advantage for a hostile state official, especially in a situation like this where you have open hostility towards pro-life viewpoints and towards pregnancy centers with no evidence of wrongdoing. So that’s why we had such broad support. And the case came down and the holding truly is great that this was unanimous. It was very clear that if you have state officials who are harassing their ideological opponents, and by doing so, they’re violating their First Amendment rights, then those state officials need to be held accountable in federal court. 

And the mere existence of a demand for donor identities and donor names is enough to chill, not only First Choice and the organization that you’re targeting from associating with donors, but also the donors themselves. Individuals don’t want to give their information to an organization they know is under scrutiny by a hospital state official, particularly one who’s hostile towards the viewpoint that you’re supporting. So that’s why this case is so important for pregnancy resource centers and broadly for all organizations across the country who could be subjected to this sort of harassment from the highest law enforcement official of a state.

Rachel Wiles:

That’s really helpful context, and I would love to kind of piggyback on what you said about the hostility here at the ERLC. We have a pro-life ministry called the Psalm 139 Project, which exists to place ultrasound machines in pregnancy centers. And so we’ve done those across the country. We actually just placed our hundredth ultrasound machine this past week, and especially following the Dobbs decision, we have seen just a huge chasm between pregnancy centers and where they operate and how they operate. And pregnancy centers will continue to be vital across the country, whether they’re in pro-choice states or pro-life states. But as I’ve had the opportunity to talk to pregnancy center directors, it’s a very different conversation with a pregnancy center oftentimes in a pro-choice state. And so much of what Aimee mentioned earlier about restrictions and oversight and differing worldviews has been the conversations we’ve had.

And so we launched a new emphasis in this last year called Across State Lines, where we are calling Southern Baptists, those who live in very conservative pro-life states, to help fund the placement of ultrasound machines in these more pro-choice states. So we’re calling that Across State Lines. We know that these are the states where women are traveling to get abortions. We know that these are the states that are often under a lot of hostility. So Aimee, can you talk a little bit about the difference in, say, a pregnancy center’s work in a conservative state versus a more pro-choice state and what that looks like day to day for you guys? 

Aimee Huber:

Sure. And my experience is similar to yours, Rachel. I go to conferences, and I speak with directors from conservative states, and I just think, oh my goodness, this is just a whole different world. In many ways it seems much easier for them in many ways. So I think of, obviously, hostile state officials. We are experiencing that, but we’re not the only ones. We know that the subpoena that we received is not unique to us, that it has occurred in other states. So the hostility with the state officials is certainly a concern. But along with that is the hostility with media too. We’ve experienced that. I remember having an interview with a reporter that seemed so friendly and so supportive and then being blindsided when the piece came out, and it was not very supportive or friendly at all. So that’s certainly the case. I think the greatest thing that I can comment on is just feeling like you have a target on your back and that you need to be so vigilant and so careful, and that’s a good way to be anyway, wherever you are. 

But in this environment, every “I” needs to be dotted and every “T” needs to be crossed and so much can be misrepresented. You just have to be very careful. So that’s certainly what we experience here in New Jersey. And I look at centers and clinics in California, and I know they’ve been experiencing that for many, many more years than we have. So we’re a little later to the party in a way. But it is definitely different when you’re in a sanctuary state for abortion and the state government is doing everything they can to bring women here, even paying for it, paying for their travel expenses. So anybody who gets in the way of that is not a favorite person for them, that’s for sure.

Rachel Wiles:

Yeah, I remember, and this was early on right after the Dobbs decision, we were at a center in California, and they were like, we have a staff member, and the vast majority of their job is to just make sure, just like you said, all the “i’s are dotted, all the “t’s” are crossed because we have to make sure that absolutely everything is above board before the state because they’re looking for any reason to be able to shut us down. And then I’ve worked with conservative states where there are grants available to pregnancy centers. There’s all these different types of things. And so it’s just a very different reality and I don’t think everyone’s aware of that. So, I think hearing your story, hearing this case before the Supreme Court makes that so evident. So with your center where you are right now, I know it’s been a challenging season. It’s also probably been a very joyful season in this victory, but what are some aspects of your ministry that are encouraging to you right now?

Aimee Huber:

One thing that’s encouraging is the unity that we have on our staff and on our board. As I mentioned, I’ve been here for 35 years and there’s been a lot of different people and a lot of different situations. There’s been often many open staff positions, you know, some of us doing multiple jobs because positions just haven’t been filled. Right now, we’re fully staffed, and as many of our board and staff who could all traveled to our oral argument on December 2 just to experience that together. The night we received our subpoena in November of 2023, we just happened to have a board meeting. So I was able to mention that. And then our board made themselves available within 24 hours to meet after we met with the ADF attorneys about next steps and were all on board. And so you just see the unity and the support, and that’s just a great blessing to me. I can also say that we’ve had a growth in the number of women served and babies saved, which I’m not sure I would’ve expected last year. But 2025, we served more women and saw more babies saved than the year before. I really wouldn’t have expected that with all that’s going on. So we’ve definitely seen the Scripture lived out where what the enemy intended for evil, God used for good, for the saving of many lives. Definitely seen that. So that does bring great joy to me.

Rachel Wiles:

Amen. Well, that’s the way the Lord works, right? He does that and he’s so faithful, and I love that even while your center and you are involved before the Supreme Court, you still have people that are showing up every day there to minister to them. And I’ve said it, I don’t know how many times, but the more I’m involved in this movement, the more I realize that pregnancy center staff are the heroes of the pro-life movement. You’ve got to show up, you deal with life is messy and you get right there in the middle of it. And so thank you for doing that for 35 years. So how can we be praying for you and your team, the women and families you serve as we close off this conversation today?

Aimee Huber:

Well, obviously, pray for the women that we serve, pray for choices for life, pray for choices for Christ. Pray that the love that many are looking for will be found in him. Pray for the impact of our Supreme Court decision to be far and wide. I was so encouraged when Gabby told me that just two days after our opinion was announced, I think it was the circuit court judge in Louisiana included our decision, in his opinion, right? So that was just two days later and God is already using our victory for other purposes. And so you just realize that the impact of our victory could be multiplied by him and used by him in many, many ways. So praying for that and just praying for a continued strength and stamina as we go the next steps, because the legal battle is not over for us. So it’s just going to be round two it looks like, but thankful for the U.S. Supreme Court victory and thankful for Alliance Defending Freedom. So, definitely, prayers for our attorneys and the staff there, they’re just amazing. And we wouldn’t have been able to stand for truth in this moment without them, not in a million years. So, I’m very grateful.

Rachel Wiles:

Yeah, we will definitely be praying for those things. And Gabby, can you tell us, the case is not over, so where do things stand right now? 

Gabriella McIntyre:

So you know, as Aimee alluded to, just 24 hours after the unanimous Supreme Court victory came down, the new Attorney General, Attorney General Davenport, sent a letter to the state court trying to get the state court to fast track proceedings in order to enforce the subpoena before we could get to federal court. It was based on the faulty assumption that a mandate had issued from the Supreme Court, which is not the case. So she jumped the gun a bit, but it just goes to show that she is continuing the former Attorney General’s crusade of harassment against pregnancy centers, against First Choice. And so we do have quite a legal battle ahead of us, but we are praying for continued stamina, as Aimee said, and then God’s favor as well. The Supreme Court said very clearly, we are entitled to have Amy’s claims be heard by a federal court. And so we are looking forward to bringing the case for the first time on the merits in that federal court. And we are praying for a victory. It’s a very strong case, and it is just very clear that the Attorney General had no basis for coming after First Choice in this way. It’s just been very clear the motivation was retaliatory, and that’s unconstitutional. So, we’re praying for victory and continued stamina. 

Rachel Wiles:

We will continue to pray for all involved that you remain diligent and the Word continues to strengthen you. And it is incredible just looking at all the people that are involved in this work. You have people that are involved in pregnancy centers, you have donors and board members and churches. You have legal representation and lawyers, and it takes all of us working together to move this forward in the pro-life movement. And so it’s just remarkable to see the Church just rally around and in all of its different giftings in this way. So thank you so much for joining us, for explaining how the Lord has used you in this season, and for your service to the pregnancy center.

Aimee Huber:

Oh, thank you, Rachel. It’s really privilege. So thank you very much for your prayers and your support. I’m sure many listening have been praying for us, and we’re just so grateful for that.

Narration:

The First Choice victory is a religious liberty victory for pro-life organizations and other religious ministries in hostile states that want to undermine their important work. The ERLC and Southern Baptists have long advocated for the protection of pregnancy resource centers as they provide vital services to women in need. Let’s continue to pray for the life-saving gospel work of First Choice and other pregnancy resource centers across our country. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of The ERLC Podcast. Join us next time for post-SBC 2026 content.