State gives up fight to force nuns to fund abortion after losing twice at Supreme Court

Some legal teams are just hard to convince that they have a losing cause.

Such are the lawyers who worked on New York state’s agenda to force nuns to pay for abortions, then fought through two losing Supreme Court battles to exact that punishment for the Catholic faithful.

But, finally, they’ve given up.

According to Becket, which worked on the case Diocese of Albany v. Harris, the state now has abandoned its campaign to force that abortion funding by religious organizations.

“When New York created an abortion mandate for health care plans, it promised to protect religious groups. But after facing pressure from abortion activists, New York radically cut back the promised protections and made its mandate apply to any religious groups who hire or serve people of other faiths,” Becket explained.

“That burdened many religious ministries—including those challenging the mandate here—because they welcome and serve all people of all faiths. For example, the mandate applied to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm because they serve the elderly and dying of any faith.”

Lori Windham, Becket lawyer, said, “For nearly a decade, New York bureaucrats tried to strong-arm nuns into paying for abortions because they serve all those in need. At long last, the state has given up its disgraceful campaign. This victory confirms that the government cannot punish religious ministries for living out their faith by serving everyone.”

When New York courts refused to protect religious organizations targeted by New York’s mandate, the ministries asked the Supreme Court to take their case. In 2021, the Court reversed the New York state courts and told them to reconsider the case in light of Becket’s landmark victory in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. But the state courts ignored Fulton, forcing the religious groups back to the Supreme Court once again. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Catholic Charities, which says that government cannot use schemes like New York’s to discriminate among religious people. It then directed the New York courts to reconsider the case again in light of that ruling.”

Finally, New York acknowledged that Catholic Charities undermined its position and agreed to bring this case to an end.

“The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that religious groups shouldn’t be bullied for staying true to their faith,” said Windham. “We are glad that New York finally agreed to settle this case and protect religious objectors from discrimination.”

WorldNetDaily has reported when New York’s “bully” tactics were struck.

Becket had explained: “The Supreme Court has ordered New York courts to reconsider Diocese of Albany v. Harris, a case challenging New York’s abortion mandate, in light of Becket’s unanimous victory in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. In 2017, a group of Catholic and Anglican nuns, Catholic dioceses, Christian churches, and faith-based social ministries challenged New York’s mandate forcing them to pay for employees’ abortions. After New York courts declined to protect the faith groups, Becket and Jones Day asked the Supreme Court to step in.”

That was the second decision from the Supreme Court in favor of the religious groups.

It was the New York State Department of Financial Services that had demanded an abortion mandate for health care plans.

At the time Becket spokesman Eric Baxter noted, “New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for the great crime of serving all those in need. 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.”

U.S. Supreme Court shoots down agenda forcing nuns to pay for abortions!