The Supreme Court on Monday directed New York to re-examine its requirement for religious organizations to include medical abortion coverage in their employee insurance plans. This decision marks a significant development in a long-standing legal battle between the state and a coalition of religious groups, including Anglican nuns, who argue the mandate violates their religious freedom.
Lori Windham, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit representing the plaintiffs, hailed the decision as “a win for nuns in New York who are challenging having to pay for abortions.”
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The case, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Harris, centers on New York’s 2017 mandate requiring all employers to cover abortions in their health insurance plans. Religious organizations sought an exemption, arguing the requirement violates the Constitution’s “fundamental requirement of neutrality between religion and religion.”
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on the matter. In 2021, the justices asked New York to reconsider its ruling in light of a separate religious requirement decision. The religious groups appealed again after New York courts reportedly “refused to follow” the Supreme Court’s guidelines.
The latest Supreme Court order vacates a lower court’s decision and instructs the New York Court of Appeals to further consider the case in light of Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, a recent religious tax exemption decision. That Wisconsin ruling extended religious tax exemptions to organizations that do not proselytize a particular faith or exclusively serve members of that faith, a point Windham believes strengthens the New York nuns’ case.
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While acknowledging the court’s decision as a positive step, the plaintiffs’ petition had expressed concerns that further reconsideration would “needlessly prolong this matter, imposing significant burdens on Petitioners and other religious organizations.”
Windham affirmed that while New York now acknowledges its mandate is “unconstitutional at least in part,” there is still work to be done. “These nuns and religious ministries want to focus on their work to serve others rather than being in court,” Windham stated, adding, “We are going to urge the New York courts to move quickly and resolve this once and for all.”
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