News about plans to open an all-trimester abortion clinic in New Jersey was met with deep dismay and disappointment by pro-life advocates in the Garden State.
As one of nine states with no gestational limit on abortion, New Jersey currently has no providers that can offer the procedure past 28 weeks, according to news reports. But sadly, that is expected to change soon. Luminosas Wellness Collective recently announced that it will open a facility with no abortion gestational limits in Hudson County next year.
An article at NJ.com noted that despite being a so-called “safe haven” state, women in New Jersey were still turned away when seeking a late-term abortion.
“Tired of referring vulnerable patients out of state, Dr. Kristyn Brandi and Nurse Practitioner Catherine Obando are teaming up to open what they claim is the state’s first all-trimester abortion clinic,” the article stated.
Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, recently responded to the announcement in a column at Lifenews.com.
“It was only a matter of time. New Jersey is one of just nine states with no limits on abortion thanks to our abortion-obsessed Governor and Democratic leaders in the legislature,” she wrote.
In her article, Tasy lamented the irony of a phrase on the Luminosas website claiming that the clinic was “a light in the dark.”
“A light for whom? Certainly not the full-term babies who are weeks, days or moments away from being born only to have their lives cruelly and painfully ripped away from them,” she wrote. “And what about the mothers who will learn too late the type of physical and emotional torture they will go through to have a late-term abortion?”
Tasy’s indignation is shared by other pro-life leaders across the state.
“New Jersey has become the abortion capital of the East Coast,” said Rev. Gregory Quinlan, president of the Center for Garden State Families. “Now the abortion industry wants to push us over the moral cliff by normalizing abortion literally up to birth.”
“A recent Marist poll confirms that New Jersey voters overwhelmingly oppose late-term abortion and support clear limits, especially once the unborn child can feel pain. Yet the state’s leadership continues to defy that moral consensus.”
Heading into the recent gubernatorial election, New Jersey pro-life advocates were hopeful that a victory by Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli would have helped stem the tide when it comes to abortion, but he was defeated soundly by Democrat Mikie Sherrill.
In the past, Sherrill has vowed to enshrine abortion into the state’s constitution. As a member of Congress, she voted against H.R. 26, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
In the post-Roe era, New Jersey has emerged as one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation and a proposed all-trimester abortion facility will only accelerate its push toward limitless abortion access. Additionally, government officials have taken an aggressive, even combative, stance against pregnancy resource centers.
In December 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a consumer alert, alleging that pregnancy centers mislead and misrepresent how they operate. A consortium of New Jersey pregnancy centers responded by filing suit, claiming that the consumer alert unfairly tarnished their reputation and disregarded the valuable services the centers offer at no charge to thousands of women and their families each year.
One of those organizations, First Choice Women’s Pregnancy Center, was targeted by Platkin. In 2023, the Attorney General served a subpoena demanding that the pregnancy center identify the people behind nearly 5,000 donations and produce up to 10 years of its internal, confidential documents. Both the consumer-alert dispute and the subpoena fight are still working their way through the courts.
Despite the hostile climate in New Jersey, pro-life leaders are resolute in their commitment to defending the unborn. In a recent post for New Jersey Right to Life following the election, Tasy vowed “to face the challenges ahead with renewed vigor and determination.”
“We don’t have time to look in the rearview mirror,” she said. “We fight the good fight not for ourselves but for the little ones and other powerless people…”
Tasy noted that two of the best ways to answer the looming possibility of an all-semester abortion clinic were to promote the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Law and raise awareness about the free, life-affirming services offered by pregnancy centers throughout New Jersey—many are part of Care Net’s national network of 1,200 pregnancy centers.
Tasy said the commitment to life will remain firm regardless of political shifts.
“No matter what changes come from Trenton, we will respond with courage and unwavering resolve,” she said. “Together with families and faith communities, we can build a culture that truly honors life at every stage.”