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CV NEWS FEED // Multiple faith groups, 20 state lawyers, and legal scholars have backed New York Catholics in the Supreme Court case Diocese of Albany vs. Harris, a lawsuit over New York’s requirement that religious workers provide abortion coverage.
The religious liberty legal institute Becket, which is representing the Diocese of Albany, published an article stating that multiple religious groups, including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christians, asked the Supreme Court to block New York’s abortion mandate.
The lawsuit began in 2017, when New York initially mandated that employers cover their employees’ abortions. The only exception was for religious employers who mainly employed and served people of their own religion. Thus, an order of Catholic nuns that tends to the elderly of any religion was not granted a religious exemption.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York ruled in favor of the state in 2020. Becket helped the plaintiffs bring the case to the Supreme Court. In 2021, the state’s Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision and ordered it to revisit the case.
In 2022, the Appellate Division again ruled against the religious groups, and in 2024, the New York Court of Appeals affirmed their decision.
In September 2024, the plaintiffs requested that the Supreme Court hear the case for the second time.
“New York is bullying nuns into bankrolling abortions because they serve all people, no matter their faith,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket.
He added, “That is unacceptable — as this outpouring of support shows, religious organizations should be free to care for the needy without having to violate their beliefs.”
