New York Finally Gives Up Trying to Force Christians to Fund Abortions

New York state has abandoned its nearly decade-long push to require Christian organizations, including nuns and churches, to fund abortions.

The radically pro-abortion state has tried to make Christians pay for killing babies through employee health insurance plans. But it’s decision to finally give up marks a significant victory for religious freedom advocates after repeated interventions by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state ended its effort to apply the abortion mandate to Catholic and Anglican nuns, Catholic dioceses, Christian churches, and faith-based social ministries, according to a settlement announced by Becket, the religious liberty law firm representing the groups. The decision closes the case known as Diocese of Albany v. Harris, ensuring protections for religious objectors who serve people of all faiths.

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“For nearly a decade, New York bureaucrats tried to strong-arm nuns into paying for abortions because they serve all those in need,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket. “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.”

The mandate, first enacted in 2017 and codified in 2022, required employer health plans to cover “medically necessary” abortions even though abortions kill babies and are not medically necessary.

Initially, it promised protections for religious groups, but under pressure from abortion activists, New York narrowed the exemption to cover only those entities that primarily employ and serve people of the same faith—a restriction critics argued discriminated against ministries that welcome all individuals.

Plaintiffs in the case included a coalition of Catholic organizations, such as a nursing home run by nuns and a retirement community affiliated with the Diocese of Albany, both of which provide care regardless of religious affiliation. They contended that the rule violated their First Amendment rights by forcing them to subsidize abortions that contradict their deeply held beliefs.

“No one would reasonably say a law is generally applicable if it exempts a religious nursing home that serves only Lutherans but not one that serves indigent elderly of all faiths,” the groups argued in their appeal. “But that is precisely the position adopted by the New York courts.”

The Supreme Court played a pivotal role in the outcome.

In 2021, the justices reversed New York state courts and directed reconsideration in light of their ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which protected religious foster care agencies from discrimination. Last year, on June 16, 2025, the high court again intervened in an unsigned decision, overturning a lower court ruling upholding the mandate and ordering New York’s top court to reexamine the law under enhanced religious liberty protections.

That 2025 ruling followed the court’s unanimous decision in Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin earlier that month, which held that governments cannot use such schemes to discriminate among religious groups.

New York acknowledged that these precedents undermined its position, leading to the settlement.

“Religious groups in the Empire State should not be forced to provide insurance coverage that violates their deeply held religious beliefs,” said attorney Noel Francisco following the 2025 Supreme Court order. “We are confident that New York will finally get the message and stop discriminating against religious objectors.”

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

The resolution comes amid ongoing national debates over religious exemptions and the Hyde Amendment in health care laws, with pro-life advocates hailing it as a safeguard against government overreach into matters of conscience.

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