Pro-life group vows to defend advocates targeted under new New Jersey abortion law

A pro-life advocacy group is pledging free legal defense for pro-life advocates who could face prosecution under a new New Jersey law that the group warns could be used against peaceful protests outside abortion facilities.

40 Days for Life, which describes itself as the world’s largest grassroots movement to end abortion, said it will provide legal representation to advocates targeted under S2260/A2218, according to an Aug. 26 report from the New York Post.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, signed the legislation into law Aug. 20, imposing new criminal penalties for certain conduct at abortion facilities, including intimidation and physically obstructing people entering or leaving. The measure has drawn concern from pro-life advocates who contend the law’s prohibition might be extended to peaceful pro-life witness outside the facilities.

Shawn Carney, CEO of 40 Days for Life, criticized the new law.

“Prayer is not a crime,” Carney told the Post. “Holding a sign is not intimidation. Offering a woman help is not coercion. This law is designed to scare people of faith off the sidewalks outside abortion facilities by creating the constant threat of prosecution and costly lawsuits.”

An Aug. 20 press release from Sherrill’s office said the legislation also protects people seeking “gender-affirming care” and restricts state cooperation with certain out-of-state investigations into those practices.

The law allows civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a first violation and $25,000 for subsequent violations.

“We will not be intimidated,” Carney told the Post. “If the state tries to weaponize this law against constitutionally protected speech, our Institute of Law & Justice will be there to defend them at no cost.”

In announcing the new law, Sherrill asserted that the legislation safeguards “personal healthcare decisions.”

“Here in New Jersey, we are standing firm in defense of reproductive freedoms, “including the right to choose and the right to receive gender-affirming care,” she said in the release.

Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, also commended the legislation.

“With this signing, New Jersey is standing up as a beacon of hope for reproductive health care across the country and ensuring that all patients and providers are protected for exercising their fundamental right to health care,” she said in the release.

Under New Jersey law, abortion is permitted up until birth.