Pregnancy centers provide life-affirming care to women and families in need. But as they continue their vital work, they face mounting legal and cultural challenges, from hostile legislation and regulatory burdens to direct attacks on their religious freedom.
Issues Pregnancy Centers Are Facing
Pregnancy centers face increasing legal and cultural pressures that threaten their ability to serve women and protect life. As challenges grow, many centers are left asking:
The ADF Church & Ministry Alliance program helps pregnancy centers navigate these questions, ensuring they remain free to serve women and protect life in accordance with their deeply held beliefs.
Pregnancy centers are confronting legislative efforts that compel them to communicate messages contradicting their core pro-life values. Mandates like these not only undermine your mission but also infringe upon your First Amendment rights. The ADF Church & Ministry Alliance program is dedicated to serving centers like yours so that your First Amendment freedoms are protected.
How CMA Can Help:
If your pregnancy center faces a law or government mandate that forces you to speak against your mission, we provide legal guidance to protect your First Amendment rights. Our attorneys can further support your First Amendment freedoms by reviewing your governing documents, policies, and processes, and providing pro bono legal assistance to strengthen the legal foundation for those liberties. ADF will also review any potential dispute and may, in certain circumstances, litigate your case at no cost, defending your ability to operate in a way that is consistent with your beliefs.
Abortion pill reversal offers a second chance to women who regret initiating a chemical abortion. Despite its potential to save lives, some state officials are attempting to censor information about this procedure, limiting the options available to women in crisis.
How CMA Can Help:
If your pregnancy center is pressured to remain silent on abortion pill reversal, our attorneys can help you understand your free speech rights. Our team may also be able to assist you in filing friend-of-the-court briefs in key cases, allowing you to take a stand in defending pro-life speech.
Case Study: National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. James
The New York attorney general is using her power to censor pro-life pregnancy centers because they tell women about the option of using progesterone for abortion pill reversal. She is unlawfully targeting pro-life pregnancy centers and threatening punishment for promoting a service that gives women the option of changing their mind and attempting to save their baby’s life.
In certain states, attorneys general have initiated investigations into pro-life pregnancy centers without any complaint or substantive claims of misconduct. These actions appear to be ideologically driven, aiming to intimidate and disrupt the essential services these centers provide.
How CMA Can Help:
If your pregnancy center faces a government investigation, the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance can seek a referral for an experienced allied attorney in your state who understands the unique challenges pregnancy centers face. Our nationwide network of Christian attorneys is committed to defending First Amendment rights and ensuring you have the legal support needed to push back against unjust investigations while continuing to serve women and families.
Case Study: First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers is a collection of faith-based, pro-life centers that serves pregnant mothers, mothers of newborns, and fathers. New Jersey’s attorney general is targeting the nonprofit based on its religious speech and pro-life views with a wide-ranging, unfounded, and burdensome subpoena that requires the organization to expend its limited resources to produce extensive and sensitive information or face judicial sanctions. The attorney general does not refer to any substantive evidence of wrongdoing to justify his demands.
Pregnancy centers organized as religious nonprofits are encountering heightened scrutiny regarding their faith-based operations. Increased challenges are arising about their ability to hire staff who share their beliefs and to operate according to their religious convictions, especially if accepting government funding.
How CMA Can Help:
To ensure your pregnancy center is legally prepared, our membership program includes access to the Religious Liberty Assessment, where attorneys review your foundational documents, including your Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, and Statement of Faith. Additionally, members can access other resources related to developing and maintaining religious hiring practices, including sample job descriptions.
"At a time when life-affirming pregnancy centers are under heavier attack than ever, Alliance Defending Freedom provides invaluable tools, expertise, and resources to help pregnancy centers not only survive but thrive. ADF helps pregnancy centers, including the more than 1,200 in Care Net's network, understand the threats they face, bolsters their knowledge of the protections available to them under the law, and gives them proactive steps they can take to minimize risks and safeguard their religious freedom. And ADF does this all in a way that honors God. Care Net is grateful for this critical partnership in our Pro Abundant Life mission!"
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Roland Warren
President and CEO, CareNet
"Game-changers! Alliance Defending Freedom are game-changers in their gracious defense of life and of those, like Heartbeat, who are actively working to ensure alternatives to abortion are readily available to those at-risk for abortion. Beyond their extensive expertise and practical professionalism, they have infused the pro-life community with the boldness to be proactive and not just reactive. ADF consistently serves Heartbeat International and our network of pregnancy help organizations with top-notch talent who are top-notch individuals. It is both a pleasure and a privilege to commend Alliance Defending Freedom for their work in championing life and religious liberty."
Jor-El Godsey
President, Heartbeat International
"As the executive director of First Choice Women's Resource Centers in NJ, I can't imagine where we would be without ADF's Church and Ministry Alliance. We joined in June, 2022, because we knew that our state's leadership was not supportive of pregnancy centers. ADF reviewed our foundational documents when we joined so we knew we were in good standing. In November, 2023, we were served an unlawful subpoena by our state's attorney general. As ADF has represented us in this matter, I have been impressed at every turn by how professional, brilliant and strategic ADF attorneys are. There are no words to express how grateful I am! They are a gift to churches and ministries and I am among their greatest supporters.”
Aimee Huber
Executive Director, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers
The Church & Ministry Alliance program offers a range of benefits to help protect your pregnancy center:
CMA members receive access to experienced attorneys who are available to answer legal questions and provide guidance on critical issues impacting your pregnancy center's religious liberty. Additionally, members benefit from the Religious Liberty Assessment (RLA), a comprehensive review that identifies potential legal vulnerabilities and provides recommendations to strengthen your pregnancy center's legal foundation.
Access educational resources focused on legal and cultural matters impacting churches and other ministries, including livestreams with attorneys, practical legal guides, on-demand videos, and Christian worldview resources.
Receive curated updates and insights to help you navigate complex legal and cultural issues that impact your ability to operate consistent with your religious beliefs.
Join a community of like-minded Christian church leaders who are advocating for religious freedom and shaping the culture by living out the truths of the Gospel.
Equip your staff with training and resources designed to address today’s legal challenges encountered while living out and faithfully teaching a Biblical worldview.
* Our team is in the planning or early stage of offering these services.
The Religious Liberty Assessment is a members-only tool designed to help pregnancy resource centers, and other ministries, identify legal vulnerabilities and opportunities to strengthen their religious liberty, setting a firm foundation for ongoing legal support and consultation. This assessment provides an opportunity to examine key areas of your center's operations, starting with your governing documents, in light of your religious liberty so you can proactively safeguard your mission.
Become a member and gain access to our exclusive Religious Liberty Assessment along with other valuable benefits to support your church’s mission.
Fill out the online questionnaire to provide us with insights into your center’s legal standing. Upload the necessary documents (Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, Constitution, Statement of Faith, and Additional Doctrinal Statements) to help us understand your current practices and the language used to describe your ministry.
An experienced attorney will review your submission, provide personalized feedback, and schedule a meeting to discuss your results and next steps for building the legal foundation of your center's religious liberty.
When you join the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance, you’re not alone. You’re part of a growing alliance of schools, churches, and ministries boldly living out their missions and transforming culture with the truth.
The ADF Church & Ministry Alliance program offers tiered pricing to ensure that every center—large or small—can join the alliance.
$500
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
$10,000
The CMA program addresses a wide range of religious liberty issues, including employment practices, facility usage, membership agreements, and more. Our Scope of Services document provides additional details here.
Membership fees are based on your church’s congregation size. See our pricing section above for details.
Absolutely. The CMA program is designed to support ministries of all sizes, ensuring you have the resources you need to navigate religious liberty-related legal challenges.
Yes. ADF Church & Ministry Alliance members must agree with our statement of faith, which consists of the Apostle’s Creed and a set of ADF Doctrinal Distinctives. While the alliance includes churches from a variety of denominations, all members hold to these same core biblical truths.
This statement is essential for all ministries to review and affirm before becoming members. Click here to read the statement.
No. The ADF Church & Ministry Alliance is not an insurance program, and Alliance Defending Freedom is not an insurance company. ADF may represent ADF Church & Ministry Alliance members in pro-bono, limited scope representations upon request or in litigation related to protecting the religious liberty of the church or ministry. However, ADF cannot guarantee legal representation in every situation and does not provide casualty payments for a lawsuit. Any legal representation undertaken by ADF is without cost to ADF Church & Ministry Alliance members.
Yes, upon submission of your membership application, please check your email for a notice from our team that will include a link to provide more details related to your request for legal help.
Please understand that signing up for an ADF Church & Ministry Alliance membership doesn’t guarantee legal representation. ADF may review your situation to determine if ADF can assist you with the current issue, but signing up for membership is not the same as retaining an attorney for legal services. ADF has the sole authority to determine if ADF can assist an organization with requests for advice or representation.
Contact us by calling 1-833-233-2559 or emailing ChurchAlliance@ADFlegal.org.
