The Second Circuit recently issued a significant First Amendment ruling in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. James.
At issue is whether faith-based pregnancy centers may share information about supplemental progesterone, often referred to as “abortion-pill reversal,” while New York Attorney General Letitia James seeks to enforce New York’s business fraud laws against that speech.
After the Attorney General sued multiple pregnancy centers in state court, alleging their statements were “false and misleading,” several organizations, including National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, filed a federal lawsuit asserting their First Amendment right to inform women about this option and connect them with third-party providers. First & Fourteenth partner Lincoln Wilson represented NIFLA in the district court and drafted the motion for preliminary injunction along with the team at Alliance Defending Freedom.
A federal district court blocked enforcement while the case proceeds. In December 2025, the Second Circuit affirmed that temporary protection, concluding the speech is likely noncommercial because it is religiously and morally motivated, unpaid, and limited to providing information and referrals.
The ruling does not end the case, but it ensures these centers may continue speaking while litigation continues