Supreme Court Concedes Victory to Nuns who are Fighting New York Abortion Mandate

Articles | June 16, 2025 | by Catholics for Catholics

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The State had forced the nuns, Catholic dioceses and Christian churches to pay for the abortions of their employees.

By Catholics for Catholics

In a case of David vs. Goliath, a group of nuns defeated the State of New York in a battle over the pro-life wars.

The Supreme Court ordered the courts of New York to reevaluate a case that obligated Catholic and Anglican nuns, as well as faith-based social ministries, Catholic dioceses and Christian churches to pay for the abortion of their employees, according to The Daily Wire. 

At issue is the case of the Diocese of Albany v. Harris, which had the nuns and their plaintiffs suing the State over a 2017 requirement. The Supreme Court on Monday ordered New York courts to reconsider a case in which the state forced Catholic and Anglican nuns, Catholic dioceses, Christian churches, and faith-based social ministries to pay for their employees’ abortions.

“When the New York State Department of Financial Services initially proposed the abortion mandate for health care plans, it promised to exempt all employers with religious objections. But after facing pressure from abortion activists, New York narrowed the exemption to cover only religious groups that primarily teach religion and primarily serve and hire those who share their faith,” the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm, told Rhe Daily Wire.

Nevertheless, the New York courts staunchly held to the mandate. The Becket law firm countered by appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. “In 2021, the Supreme Court reversed the state courts’ decision and told them to reconsider it after Becket won the case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, but the state courts stated that Fulton was inapplicable to the Diocese case,” wrote The Daily Wire.

“New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for the great crime of serving all those in need,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said. “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. We are confident that these religious groups will finally be able to care for the most vulnerable consistent with their beliefs.”