Delaware officials agree to permanently halt enforcement of law targeting pro-life pregnancy centers
The agreement ends the state’s defense of the measure after pro-life pregnancy centers argued that the requirement forced them to deliver a misleading message and interfered with their work serving women.
In a victory for pro-life organizations, Delaware state officials settled a federal lawsuit challenging a law that required some pregnancy care centers to post disclaimers about their medical staffing and licensing status.
The settlement, finalized June 26, resolves National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Jennings, a lawsuit over S.B. 300, a 2024 law that took effect in 2025. The law required covered pregnancy centers to post notices within their facilities and their advertisements stating that they are not licensed medical facilities and do not have a licensed medical provider directly supervising services.
The plaintiffs — the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a network supporting pro-life pregnancy centers, and A Door of Hope, a Wilmington-area center — argued that the law unconstitutionally compelled speech, burdened operations, and required misleading disclaimers.
Attorneys from Simms Showers and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the suit in February 2025, according to a June 26 ADF statement. State officials agreed in March 2025 not to enforce the law while the case proceeded.
Under the consent judgment, Delaware officials are permanently prohibited from enforcing the law against the plaintiffs. The state attorney general’s office also agreed to pay $50,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
“We applaud Delaware officials for allowing NIFLA and A Door of Hope to serve women and families free from government punishment,” ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said in the 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. We’re pleased these centers will be free to continue their life-saving service in the community.”
Simms Showers Partner William R. Thetford, lead counsel for the pregnancy centers, also welcomed the settlement in the statement, saying that state officials “shouldn’t enforce unconstitutional laws.”
“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,” he added, “and now they can pursue that worthy mission unshackled by an inappropriate application of the law.”
