New Jersey Bill Could Penalize Speech Causing Emotional Harm to Abortion Providers
By Daily Caller News Foundation (/journals/dcnf)
New Jersey’s new abortion protection bill could make pro-life activism illegal in the state.
Bills A2218 and S2260 aim to prohibit protestors from “intimidating” people outside abortion clinics, and health insurers from denying coverage for abortion services, NJ.com reported Wednesday. Experts warn at least one provision of this bill could violate people’s First Amendment rights.
“A person is guilty of interference with reproductive health care services” if they “purposely or knowingly” cause “a reasonable person to suffer damage to the person’s business or personal reputation, financial harm, or pain and suffering, mental anguish, or emotional harm on the basis that the person, entity, or facility provides, volunteers, assists with, or receives reproductive health care services,” the bill states.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin’s office, the ACLU of New Jersey, and New Jersey Press Association did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
“These bills lack basic constitutional safeguards and would punish truthful reporting relating to reproductive health care services, as well as protected opinions about such services,” a New Jersey Press Association spokesperson reportedly told NJ.com. “A reporter could be civilly or criminally liable for publishing an article about the troubling practices of a reproductive healthcare services provider, even if the reporting was well-documented and fully accurate. A provider could simply assert his or her reputation or emotions were harmed by that truthful reporting.”
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)’s New Jersey chapter also chimed in their concerns.
“We have been supportive overall, but this one provision is concerning,” ACLU of New Jersey Legislative Director John Butler reportedly told the outlet. “From our point of view, we want protections for abortion providers and clients but we also need to protect people’s constitutional rights to speech. I don’t think that is what the bill drafters were aiming at.”
Nearly 60,000 unborn children were aborted within New Jersey in 2024, the New Jersey Family Planning League reported Oct. 2025. 11% were reportedly done through telehealth.
“Our caucus remains committed to protecting the freedom of families to make medical decisions with their doctors without fear of threats or intimidation, and we refuse to let legislatures and voters from states a thousand miles away dictate medical decisions to families here in New Jersey,” Coughlin reportedly stated.
Some pro-abortion activists dismissed their concerns.
“While Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey disagrees with the interpretation that the current language in S2260/A2218 infringes on protected First Amendment speech, our goal is to see this bill enacted for the benefit of our state’s patients and providers,” the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey stated in a press release Wednesday. “The bill remains strong: it ensures unhindered access to reproductive health care facilities; protects providers and patients from out-of-state legal attacks; and shields providers from adverse actions that stem from the provision of care that is legal in New Jersey.”
The bill was amended Thursday. It originally aimed to ban interference with “gender-affirming care” access, according to a press release by New Jersey General Assembly’s Democratic caucus last May.
“Let’s work on something that really protects kids, focusing on the genuine underlying problems,” Republican Assemblyman Paul Kanitra posted on X the evening those provisions were axed.
“New Jersey Right to Life will continue to defend every child in the womb, support mothers and families in crisis, and protect the fundamental right to speak and assemble without fear of prosecution. We will not be silenced,” New Jersey Right to Life said in a press release June 1.
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.