Supreme Court Vacates New York Ruling Forcing Catholic Diocese to Cover Abortions
by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a New York state court ruling that required the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to provide abortion coverage in its employee health plan, sending the case back to the New York Court of Appeals for reconsideration. The decision marks a significant development in a years-long legal battle over religious freedom and state health mandates.
At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 New York regulation requiring employers to cover medically necessary abortions in their insurance plans. While the law includes exemptions for some religious organizations, New York courts have repeatedly ruled that the Diocese of Albany does not qualify because it serves people regardless of their faith and employs individuals who are not exclusively Catholic.
The diocese contends that the state’s narrow exemption violates its First Amendment rights, arguing that its mission to serve the poor and vulnerable should not disqualify it from protections afforded to religious entities. “We believe this is unconstitutional since it involves government entanglement in the fundamental rights of free exercise of faith and conscience,” the diocese stated in its appeal.
A broad coalition of religious groups—including the Little Sisters of the Poor—has supported the diocese’s challenge, arguing that the mandate forces faith-based organizations to violate deeply held beliefs about the sanctity of life.
On Monday, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s decision and remanded the case for further consideration, citing its recent ruling in Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry. In that case, the Court found that Wisconsin had discriminated against a Catholic charity by denying it a religious tax exemption on the grounds that its charitable work was too secular.
“New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for the great crime of serving all those in need,” said Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket, which represents the diocese. “For the second time in four years, the Supreme Court has made clear that bully tactics like these have no place in our nation or our law.”
The Supreme Court’s order does not resolve the broader constitutional question of whether the abortion coverage mandate can survive strict scrutiny. However, it signals continued concern about the way states define which religious organizations qualify for exemptions.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that the state’s requirement forces religious groups to conform to New York’s narrow view of what counts as a religious ministry. “New York’s mandate imposes immense burdens on countless religious entities opposed to abortion as a matter of deep-seated religious conviction,” they wrote in their petition.
New York officials have defended the law as a necessary measure to ensure equal access to comprehensive health care. The state’s courts previously upheld the mandate, finding that it did not violate the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution.
This marks the second time the high court has returned the case to New York courts for reconsideration. The first came in 2021, following a Supreme Court decision favoring a Catholic foster agency in Philadelphia.
There was no immediate comment from New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office defended the law. It remains unclear when the state’s top court will rehear the case.
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