That line from George Orwell's dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" opens U.S. District Judge John Sinatra's order Thursday imposing a preliminary injunction on New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is threatening pro-life pregnancy centers for telling women about so-called abortion pill reversal, as their lawsuit proceeds.
The First Amendment does not allow the United States to adopt "Oceania's Ministry of Truth."
Because each federal plaintiff "seeks to vindicate its own First Amendment rights" rather than stop James' enforcement in state court, the Supreme Court's precedent on federal courts abstaining when state courts are already involved doesn't apply, Sinatra said.
The centers' constitutional harms "are sufficiently 'actual and imminent' to constitute an injury in fact," making them "ripe for adjudication" as well, the judge said.
In May, SCOTUS also refused to force a federal judge to let New Jersey pregnancy centers sue AG Matthew Platkin before he enforces civil investigative demands in state court.
Her office may not enforce state consumer fraud laws against the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), Gianna's House and Options Care Center, which sued in May, for referring to APR, calling it safe and effective or directing people to the APR Hotline and website in their ads, social media and promotional materials.
But the high court's 2018 precedent NIFLA v. Becerra, preventing California from forcing pregnancy centers to promote abortion, provided a roadmap for lower courts on pro-life speech.
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