NIFLA in the News

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, a highly anticipated case that combines two often controversial topics: the First Amendment and abortion. The question before the justices today was whether a California law that directs “crisis pregnancy centers” to provide their patients with specific kinds of information – including, for some, the availability of low-cost or free abortions – violates the First Amendment’s free speech clause. […]

The heart and soul of the First Amendment is at risk in a case before the Supreme Court. In National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, which is being argued today, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine the future of the free-speech rights of nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers nationwide. Its ruling will have ramifications far beyond the walls of pro-life pregnancy centers.

On March 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra. MRC Culture interviewed Thomas Glessner, the founder and president of NIFLA, about the case at the 2018 March for Life in Washington, D.C. According to Glessner, the case was pushed by a “pro-abortion effort” and centers on Americans’ freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Josh McClure started the Pregnancy Care Clinic in San Diego with a desire to support women facing unplanned pregnancies and help save lives. The clinic estimates that 75 percent of the women it serves who are at risk for choosing an abortion end up choosing life for their babies…

“Forcing a pro-life group to advertise for abortion has to be unconstitutional.” That’s the beginning (emphasis added) of the opening brief in NIFLA v. Becerra, now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. Thirty strong amicus briefs have been filed—by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Christian Legal Society, by 144 members of Congress, the attorneys general of 21 states, and pregnancy centers nationwide. But that first statement sums them up. If the Free Speech Clause of the First […]