ALBANY, New York (LifeSiteNews) — The state of New York has finally surrendered its efforts to make religious institutions pay for abortions, almost a decade after enacting its controversial insurance mandate.

For years, various groups, including the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, have been challenging a New York Department of Financial Services policy that religious entities, including churches, must cover supposed “medically necessary” abortions in employee health insurance plans. In May 2024, the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in June 2025 vacated a lower court judgment against the plaintiffs and ordered the case to be reconsidered in light of its precedent in Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Comm’n.

In that ruling, handed down last February, the nation’s highest court had unanimously determined that Catholic Charities Bureau, an affiliate of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, should not have been denied an exemption from state taxes and faulted the Wisconsin Supreme Court for denying the exemption on the rationale that its work was not primarily religious.

The June decision did not end the case on its own but was widely recognized as making victory for the plaintiffs a foregone conclusion. Now, Becket has announced that the state has finally given up trying to apply the mandate to nuns, Catholic dioceses, and other Christian churches and faith-based social organizations, officially closing the case.

“For nearly a decade, New York bureaucrats tried to strong-arm nuns into paying for abortions because they serve all those in need,” Becket senior counsel Lori Windham responded. “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 Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that religious groups shouldn’t be bullied for staying true to their faith,” she continued. “We are glad that New York finally agreed to settle this case and protect religious objectors from discrimination.” 

The victory follows another rebuke of New York officials in December, when a federal appeals court panel ruled against New York Attorney General Letitia James’s efforts to prevent crisis pregnancy centers across the state from promoting progesterone as a way to reverse the effects of chemical abortions.

However, the state remains a stronghold for legal abortion-on-demand. Last month, Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an enhancement of the state’s “shield law” for abortion and “gender transition” practices, making it even harder for investigators from other states to obtain information about New York abortionists who help break the pro-life laws of other states.