The U.S. Supreme Court is giving religious organizations in New York another chance to challenge state regulations requiring employers to provide no-cost insurance coverage for medically necessary abortions.
The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a ruling issued by New York’s highest court last May that upheld the insurance mandate along with a narrowly defined religious exemption.
The Supreme Court stopped short of issuing its ruling on the matter, but sent the case back to the New York Court of Appeals, saying the court’s panel of judges must reconsider their decision in light of a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that favored religious employers in a separate case in Wisconsin.
This is the second time the Supreme Court has sent the case back to the New York Court of Appeals for reconsideration.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other religious groups first brought litigation against the state and its Department of Financial Services, which regulates insurers, nearly a decade ago.
The plaintiffs have argued, in part, that the religious exemption for abortion coverage is too narrow. New York’s regulations define religious entities as those primarily employing and serving people with the same religious tenets, in addition to meeting other criteria. The state requires those seeking an exemption to be recertified annually to meet the criteria.
New York’s Court of Appeals rejected those claims, along with arguments that the state’s regulations are discriminatory because the insurance mandate does not cover some secular employers.
Kathy Barrans, a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, said in a statement that the organization welcomes the Supreme Court’s latest decision.
The New York attorney general’s office declined to comment, since this is once again ongoing litigation.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that a Catholic charity in Wisconsin can’t be required to pay unemployment taxes when other religious groups are exempt.
