A Door of Hope, which operates four crisis pregnancy centers in Delaware, has won at least a temporary reprieve from a new state law that would require them to post notices that the centers do not have a licensed medical professional on site “who provides or directly supervises the provision of services” and are not licensed medical centers.
United States district Judge Richard G. Andrews issued a “defendants’ status quo order” on March 17, in which Kathy Jennings, the state attorney general and the defendant in the lawsuit, agreed not to enforce Senate Bill 300 until the case has wound its way through the court system. The deadline for Jennings to reply to the original complaint was extended to April 10.
A Door of Hope and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), through Alliance Defending Freedom and the Washington, D.C.-area law firm Simms Showers, filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Feb. 13. They claimed the law, which was scheduled to go into effect on March 26, “unconstitutionally restricts the centers’ ability to communicate freely and also forces them to speak messages that undermine their mission and mislead the public.”
NIFLA is a nonprofit religious network of facilities with four in Delaware.
SB 300 passed both houses of the Delaware General Assembly last June largely along party lines and was signed by then-Gov. John Carney in September.
“We’re pleased Delaware officials won’t enforce their unconstitutional law against the pregnancy centers we represent as this case continues,” Simms Showers senior associate William R. Thetford said in a press release. “Pregnancy centers are a force for good in Wilmington and the surrounding community, offering families true, life-affirming care and resources during unplanned or unsupported pregnancies.”
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.
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 when the lawsuit was announced 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, ADF senior counsel, applauded Delaware officials “for allowing NIFLA and A Door of Hope to serve women and families free from government punishment.
“We are urging the court to follow the Supreme Court’s guidance and respect pregnancy centers’ freedom to continue their lifesaving service in their communities.”
Theriot was referencing a case in which the high court had ruled that California had violated the First Amendment by requiring pregnancy centers to display notices that provided information on where one could obtain an abortion. Gay, in senate debate last spring, said she had crafted the bill to avoid the issue referenced in the California case.
