Coalition of faith groups side with nuns in religious freedom case before Supreme Court

A group of nuns and religious associations fighting for exemption from a New York law mandating they provide abortion coverage to their employees has gained support from a coalition of Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, and other Christian groups as they take their legal battle to the Supreme Court.

In Diocese of Albany v. Harris, the plaintiffs are suing the state of New York after it mandated employers to cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. The nuns have been engaged in the litigation since first filing suit in 2017. Their case is one of several religious freedom cases that could be on the Supreme Court docket this term.

Twenty states including Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio have thrown their weight behind the case, alongside the University of Notre Dame’s Religious Liberty Clinic and various Catholic health care professionals and organizations. Together with the various religious groups, they collectively filed seven friend-of-the-court briefs asking the Supreme Court to block the mandate.

“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 the religious liberty law firm Becket, in a press release. “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.”

Read More…