Delaware officials have agreed to a court order to permanently prohibit the state from enforcing an unconstitutional law against pro-life pregnancy centers. As part of the settlement, the Delaware attorney general's office agreed to pay $50,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.
The controversy started when Delaware's Senate Bill 300 imposed a requirement for these pregnancy centers to post disclaimers in their facility and advertising materials that they do not have a licensed medical provider on their staff, otherwise known as government-compelled speech.
The Christian Posts reports that the state’s Senate and House of Representatives hold a Democrat majority. In both chambers, the majority of Democrats were in favor of the senate bill with Republicans opposed to such a measure.
According to the press release, a federal lawsuit filed by attorneys with Simms Showers and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in February of 2025 saying the law unconstitutionally restricts the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates' and A Door of Hope's ability to communicate and advertise freely. The lawsuit claimed that the disclaimer is false, burdensome and limits advertising options.
Kevin Theriot, senior counsel at ADF, says that the original law was intended to hinder the progress made in the state by pro-life pregnancy centers.
“The law singles out pregnancy centers, and one of the sponsors of the law actually said that this is about really going after these pro-life pregnancy centers because they're targeting them because of their prolife views,” Theriot states.
Delaware agreed with ADF, saying that the law was unconstitutional. Theriot says that they got a permanent injunction against it being enforced.
“I think this sends the message to other states and other attorney generals that — look, you can't single out pro-life pregnancy centers or any other organization because of their views, especially if those views are protected by the First Amendment,” Theriot states.
