In a closely watched legal battle over New Jersey’s controversial Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act (L. 2021, c. 375), - signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on January 13, 2022 - the state Appellate Division issued a mixed but significant ruling today that offers renewed hope to those opposing the law. While the court rejected the petitioners’ immediate bid to invalidate the statute on procedural grounds, it granted a remand that will allow the challengers to further argue their case before the Law Division.
Petitioners Barbara and William Eames brought their challenge under N.J.S.A. 1:7-1 and 1:7-4, contending the abortion law - a matter of deep moral and legal consequence - was unlawfully enacted through rushed procedures that violated constitutional norms, legislative rules, and public transparency principles, lacked sufficient notice to the public and improperly curtailed meaningful participation.
The court denied their application, which focused on the “mechanics of the enactment,” but declined to dismiss the matter entirely.
Instead, the court remanded portions of the petition back to the Law Division, where the Eameses will have an opportunity to pursue broader constitutional challenges to the law’s substance. In doing so, the panel explicitly left open questions of standing and substance for the lower court to decide, rather than foreclosing further judicial scrutiny.
"Petitioners ask us to remand their application rather than dismiss it, contending "there is another substantive challenge that must be reviewed by the trial court in the event the law is not voided." The Attorney General argues we should dismiss petitioners' application and not remand it because petitioners lack standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Act's provisions. We conclude the better course here is to deny that portion of the application that was properly brought before us and remand the rest of the application to the Law Division," wrote Judge Gummer.
This procedural lifeline was seen by pro-life advocates as a moral and legal victory.
With the case now headed to the Law Division, the petitioners remain poised to challenge what they characterize as an unconstitutional overreach by the Legislature — and potentially make new law in how such controversial statutes are scrutinized in New Jersey courts.
Attorney Christina Vassiliou Harvey of Lomurro Munson, LLC argued the appeal on behalf of the Eameses.
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