In a unanimous move, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered New York’s highest court to reconsider its decision upholding a state mandate that forces religious employers to provide abortion coverage in their health insurance plans.
The Court’s unsigned order in Diocese of Albany v. Harris directs the New York Court of Appeals to reexamine the case in light of Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, a recent ruling that reinforced constitutional protections for religious groups under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.
The ruling stems from a years-long legal battle involving a coalition of Catholic and Anglican nuns, dioceses, churches, and faith-based ministries. These organizations challenged New York’s 2017 abortion insurance mandate, arguing that it compelled them to violate their deeply held beliefs about the sanctity of life.
“When New York created this abortion mandate, it said it would protect religious groups,” said Lori Windham, a religious liberty attorney. “But religious ministries that serve all people, regardless of faith, were left out. Not even Jesus, Mother Teresa, or Mahatma Gandhi would qualify for New York’s stingy definition of religious freedom.”
The original New York law offered only a narrow exemption—limited to religious organizations that primarily employ and serve individuals of the same faith. That meant ministries that provide food, housing, and other essential services to the general public—including those of different faiths or none at all—were left with no protection.