A Delaware crisis pregnancy center is challenging a new state law in federal court, contending the statute is an infringement on its free speech protections. Attorneys with Simms Showers and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit on Feb. 13 on behalf of A Door of Hope, which operates four locations in Delaware, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, a nonprofit religious network of facilities with four in Delaware, claiming the law “unconstitutionally restricts the centers’ ability to communicate freely and also forces them to speak messages that undermine their mission and mislead the public.”
The law, SB 300, passed both houses of the Delaware General Assembly in June 2024, largely along party lines, and was signed by then-Gov. John Carney in September. It requires crisis pregnancy centers “to provide notice if the center is not licensed by this state as a medical facility and does not have a licensed medical provider who provides or directly supervises, in person, the provision of services.”
Rachel Metzger, the executive director of A Door of Hope, said in an ADF press release that the law explicitly targets pro-life pregnancy centers, impeding the mission of A Door of Hope and others.
“Our mission is to empower women to make life-affirming and healthy decisions, particularly about sex, pregnancy and relationships. It’s unlawful for the state to punish us for holding a pro-life viewpoint,” she said.
The law is scheduled to go into effect on March 26.
A Door of Hope is a faith-based organization that provides both medical and non-medical pro-life information and services at no cost for women facing unplanned or unsupported pregnancies, according to ADF. Their services include adoption information and referrals, post-abortion support, parenting classes, pregnancy options counseling, prenatal vitamins and baby items. The organization’s registered nurses also provide pregnancy tests and limited obstetrical ultrasounds. Its medical team consists of a volunteer medical doctor, a volunteer radiologist and several registered nurses.
When reached via email on Feb 14, Metzger referred all inquiries to Alliance Defending Freedom.
Kyle Evans Gay, now the lieutenant governor, was the primary sponsor of the bill in the state senate. During deliberations in the senate last spring, she told her colleagues that the intent of the law is to provide the most information to clients.
“It ensures that consumers understand where they are and what’s available,” she said then.
William R. Thetford, a senior associate counsel at Simms Showers, said in a release that the law is unconstitutional, “pure and simple. It is a classic example of the government compelling speech to punish those who hold differing viewpoints.”
Kevin Theriot, senior counsel for ADF, said in the release that since the fall of Roe v. Wade, state attorneys general have increased their efforts to silence and shut down crisis pregnancy centers across the United States. Delaware’s law follows similar efforts in New Jersey, New York, Washington, California and Vermont in forcing these facilities to provide misleading information or be punished for their viewpoints, he said.
“Delaware’s law runs afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in NIFLA v. Becerra that struck down compelled statements in advertising,” Theriot said.
In NIFLA v. Becerra, decided in 2018, the Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 vote that a California law mandating that crisis pregnancy centers provide certain information to patients. The high court opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, found that the government cannot require pro-life centers to display compelled speech.
During debate on the bill last spring, Gay addressed that court decision, saying the language of her bill had been crafted in a way to meet the Supreme Court’s standard. The crisis centers are not prohibited from discussing any options, she said. The law does not require, as California’s did, that patients be notified where they could receive an abortion.
“The important piece here is that we as a state are making sure that the public health need is met by requiring the signage,” she said.
Phone messages were left Feb. 14 with the lieutenant governor’s offices in Dover and Wilmington. A spokesperson for state attorney general Kathleen Jennings said she would check with Jennings about a response.
State Sen. Bryant Richardson, during debate last spring, said pregnancy care centers provide some materials that are not available at clinics that offer abortions.
“People on the pro-life side celebrate any child that is saved from abortion,” Richardson said. “I think as an institution, as a caring and concerned legislative body, we should be celebrating life that way.”
The lawsuit contends that having to post the disclaimer required by SB300 is burdensome and misleading, and it would limit the centers’ digital advertising options, thus impeding their freedom of speech.
This article will be updated.
