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Catholic nuns and faith-based healthcare providers who have spent generations caring for New York’s dying are suing the state, arguing its new assisted suicide law will force them to violate their religious beliefs by participating in a practice they consider morally wrong.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court by over 10 Catholic plaintiffs, including the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Catholic Health, argues New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act compels religious healthcare providers to counsel terminally ill patients about physician-assisted suicide, make referrals to participating providers and, in some cases, accommodate assisted suicide in their facilities.
The plaintiffs say those requirements violate the First Amendment, federal healthcare protections and longstanding Catholic teaching on the sanctity of human life.
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The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm serving a patient. (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
“New York has put the Sisters to a stark choice: either abandon their religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of life or face significant fines and penalties,” the lawsuit reads. “Through its euphemistically-named Medical Aid in Dying Act, which builds upon requirements in the Palliative Care Information Act, New York has conscripted even religious healthcare providers and institutions to participate in the provision of physician-assisted suicide.”
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, which was signed into law in February, lets those who are 18 years and older who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months or less to live to request and self-administer life-ending medication if they are experiencing immense suffering, according to Compassion and Choices, who supports the new law.
The group notes the measure is based on Oregon’s long-standing assisted dying law.
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The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
According to the complaint, the law could compel religious organizations to facilitate physician-assisted suicide by giving patients information about the practice, permitting staff to discuss it with terminally ill patients, and helping patients complete steps required to qualify for life-ending medication.
The plaintiffs also argue the law would require referrals to willing providers and prevent the organizations from disciplining employees who provide such counseling or assistance in conflict with the institutions’ religious beliefs.
Rosary Hill Home, run by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, one of the plaintiffs, has cared for roughly 45,000 low-income cancer patients in New York, providing free end-of-life care regardless of their faith or cultural background.
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A sister serves a resident. (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
Mother Marie Edward, O.P., Superior General of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, said, “For over 125 years, we have ministered to the poor who are dying of cancer as if they were Christ Himself. Our calling is to offer comfort, prayer, and loving medical care to those in their final days—not death.”
Edward added, “We pray the court will protect our freedom to remain faithful to that ministry God has entrusted to us.”
In April, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne sued New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, alleging the state’s “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long-term care facility residents’ bill of rights” could force them to choose between their faith and their mission or face fines, loss of licensing and even jail time.
Mother Mary Rose Heery, O. Carm., prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said in a statement, “At our homes, we bring Christ’s unbounded love to elderly New Yorkers of every background and walk of life.”
Heery added, “We strive to bring His compassion to those entrusted to our care, ensuring that no resident ever has to die alone. This law strikes at the heart of that vocation.”
Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, who is representing the Carmelite Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, and the Little Sisters of the Poor, as well as Bishop John O. Barres and the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said in a statement that, “New York is forcing sick and dying people to consider suicide at their lowest moment, regardless of whether they ask for it or not.”
“Worse, it’s conscripting the nuns who care for them into its suicide cult on pain of crushing fines and professional ruin,” Rienzi added. “That is both unconscionable and unconstitutional. We’re confident the federal courts will put a stop to it.”
Martin Nussbaum, general counsel for Catholic Benefits Association, who is representing the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne in the transgender bill of rights lawsuit, told Fox News Digital that the Catholic Benefits Association “is entirely supportive of the Becket lawsuit seeking religious exemption from New York’s assisted suicide law.”
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A Dominican Sister of Hawthorne hugs a resident. (Photo: Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne)
“Just as in the Catholic Benefits Association case for the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the State of New York is trampling on the religious liberty and speech rights of Catholic nuns providing selfless service to men and women on their final journey,” Nussbaum added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Catholic Health for comment.
