The Justice Department recently backed a group of Catholic nuns in a dispute over New York’s transgender policies. The policies could force these nuns to choose between their religious beliefs and their mission of caring for indigent cancer patients at the end of their lives.
In a statement on Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, “States should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology.” She emphasized that the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have been providing free palliative care for over a century and that New York’s law threatens to make them choose between their faith and their operating license.
A Dominican Sister from Hawthorne embraces a resident. (Photo: Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne)
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne run a facility for terminal cancer patients in Westchester County. They argue that New York’s law could subject them to severe penalties, such as fines, license revocation, and even imprisonment, if they do not comply with mandates concerning gender identity, pronoun usage, room assignments, and access to sex-specific facilities.
The New York mandate, titled “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long-term care facility residents’ bill of rights,” was enacted on November 30, 2023. It prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, or HIV status in long-term care facilities.
A Sister of Hawthorne feeds a resident. (Photo: Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne)
The sisters’ lawsuit, filed on April 6, highlights that from February 1, 2022, to January 31, 2026, residents of their facility lodged no complaints with the New York State Department of Health, unlike other nursing homes that had over 55,000 complaints in the same period.
Martin Nussbaum, the general counsel for the Catholic Benefits Association, representing the nuns, stated that the risk of losing licenses affects both the Rosary Hill Home entity and its professionally licensed staff.
A Sister of Hawthorne sits with a resident. (Photo: Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne)
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally recognized the significance of the case, underscoring the tension between state policy and religious freedom. In contrast, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital that this lawsuit is a politically motivated attempt to exploit the justice system during an election year, claiming the fiscal intermediary transition was both legal and beneficial for taxpayers.
Rachel del Guidice, a culture reporter for Fox News, covers intersections of politics, faith, family, and American culture.