Archbishop Hicks joins Catholic sisters’ lawsuit challenging New York assisted suicide mandate
The archbishop, the Archdiocese of New York, and its healthcare ministry ArchCare are seeking protections against requirements they say would force Catholic healthcare providers to facilitate assisted suicide.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York has joined a federal lawsuit challenging requirements that Catholic healthcare providers say would force them to violate their faith by helping terminally ill patients obtain life-ending drugs rather than accompanying them until natural death.
The religious liberty law firm Becket announced Oct. 30 that the archbishop, the Archdiocese of New York, and its healthcare ministry ArchCare are seeking the same protections a federal judge temporarily granted other Catholic plaintiffs in July. The protections temporarily shield New York from enforcing the assisted suicide requirements of its Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) against the original plaintiffs while litigation proceeds.
“As Catholics, we are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing,” Archbishop Hicks said in Becket’s press release. “We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for.”
Four orders of Catholic sisters filed the original lawsuit July 17 — the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor — along with Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the diocese itself, and Catholic Health.
The ministries operate nursing homes, hospice facilities, and care centers that have long provided palliative and end-of-life support rooted in Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed New York’s MAID Act into law in February, and it took effect Aug. 5. It allows terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to request and self-administer life-ending drugs.
The plaintiffs argue that the law, combined with New York’s existing end-of-life counseling requirements, requires them to counsel terminally ill patients about assisted suicide, help them qualify for lethal drugs, and make referrals to providers willing to prescribe such drugs.
According to Becket, refusing to comply with the challenged mandates could expose the ministries and their healthcare professionals to significant fines, the loss of their professional licenses, and even jail time.
With New York’s agreement, a federal judge on July 30 temporarily barred enforcement of the challenged requirements against the original plaintiffs while the court considers their request for a preliminary injunction, as Zeale News previously reported. Archbishop Hicks, the archdiocese, and ArchCare are now seeking that protection.
“These ministries have dedicated their lives to serving those in the most need of healing and compassion, especially at the end of their lives” Adéle Keim, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the healthcare ministries, said in the release. “Assisted suicide is completely incompatible with the compassionate care that the Sisters and ArchCare offer. We are urging the court to protect these Catholic ministries as they continue their life-saving work, rather than forcing them to help end lives like New York wants.”
The lawsuit comes amid a series of legal disputes between New York and Catholic ministries. The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne are also challenging a separate 2023 New York law that they say forces Catholic ministries to choose between complying with the state's “gender identity” requirements and remaining faithful to Church teaching.
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