Delaware halts enforcement of law targeting pro-life pregnancy centers

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 19, 2025 / 17:05 pm (CNA).

Officials in the state of Delaware have agreed to temporarily halt enforcement of a law that would require pro-life pregnancy centers to display notices that their facilities do not have licensed medical professionals on staff — even when they have licensed nurses on staff.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings agreed to a March 17 court order that requires the state to stop any enforcement of the mandate while pro-life pregnancy centers challenge the legality of the mandate in court. This order applies until the court issues a final ruling on whether the law is constitutional.

“We’re pleased Delaware officials won’t enforce their unconstitutional law against the pregnancy centers we represent as this case continues,” William R. Thetford, an attorney representing the pro-life pregnancy centers, said in a statement.

Thetford, an associate with Simms Showers LLP, and lawyers affiliated with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) are representing A Door of Hope Pregnancy Center and the pro-life pregnancy center network National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) in a lawsuit challenging the Delaware law.

“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,” Thetford said.

The law, which would have gone into effect on March 26, would require pregnancy centers to display the following notice on site and in print and digital advertisements: “This facility is not licensed as a medical facility by the state of Delaware and has no licensed medical provider who provides or directly supervises the provision of services.”

This would apply to a facility unless it has a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), a radiologist, or an ultrasound technician. A facility that staffs other registered nurses but not APRNs would need to display the notice even though its nurses are also licensed by the state.

In the lawsuit, the pregnancy centers argued the notices would mislead the public when facilities have nurses on staff. The lawsuit contends the mandate is meant “to undercut the opportunities the pregnancy care centers have to engage pregnant women in unplanned or unsupported pregnancies.”

The lawsuit notes that the Wilmington-based A Door of Hope Pregnancy Center would need to display the notice under the law, even though the facility employs licensed nurses who provide medical services under the supervision of other licensed medical personnel. The lawsuit alleges the law forces the facility to engage in “untrue compelled speech.”

Additionally, the lawsuit asserts the law is burdensome because it would limit, and in some cases prevent, digital advertising. It notes that displaying this notice would prevent any advertisements with Google ads because of the character limits.

Lawyers representing the pregnancy centers contend the state is engaging in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and curtailing the free exercise of religion because the pregnancy centers are faith-based. For those reasons, the lawyers argue that the law violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

“We applaud Delaware officials for allowing NIFLA and A Door of Hope to serve women and families free from government punishment as this case moves forward,” ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said in a statement.

“We’ve seen too many state attorneys general ramp up their efforts to silence, censor, and shut down pregnancy care centers across the country,” Theriot added. “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, who is on the legal team for this case, also served on the legal team for a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the free speech rights of pregnancy resource centers. In that case, the court 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.

Courts have issued rulings in some states, such as Illinois, to halt similar laws that sought to regulate the speech of pregnancy resource centers. In other states, such as New York, attorneys general have also begun targeting the speech of pregnancy centers through civil action.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262841/delaware-halts-enforcement-of-law-targeting-pro-life-pregnancy-centers