Catholic nuns, bishop sue New York over forced participation in assisted suicide
‘Our calling is to protect and care for needy seniors, not steer them toward suicide,’ Mother Alice Marie Monica of the Little Sisters of the Poor said. ‘We will remain true to that mission.’
Jason
Grant/Shutterstock
- 7
Fri Jul 24, 2026 - 6:31 am EDT
Listen to this article
5 min
NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — A bishop and four communities of religious sisters are fighting back in federal court against a New York law they say would force them to take part in assisted suicide in violation of the Catholic faith.
On July 17, the Diocese of Rockville Centre and four communities of Catholic religious sisters filed a federal lawsuit against the state of New York, challenging a physician-assisted suicide law signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in February. The plaintiffs argue that the law, scheduled to take effect on August 5, compels Catholic institutions to participate in assisted suicide despite their religious convictions, and therefore violates the First Amendment’s protections for religious liberty and free speech.
“We will never submit to New York’s culture of death,” Bishop John Oliver Barres said in a statement released through the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “Assisted suicide is a grave moral failure that puts the elderly, the disabled, and those suffering from mental and emotional illness at risk of abuse and manipulation. Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death. The court should protect that millennia-old mission.”
READ: Fr. James Martin pushes for ordaining homosexual men as priests
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict. All of the plaintiffs operate ministries caring for elderly, terminally ill, or otherwise vulnerable people and state that Catholic teaching forbids any participation in intentionally ending a patient’s life.
The complaint states that New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act provides only limited exemptions for religious institutions. Even exempt facilities would still have to informterminally ill patients about assisted suicide or refer them to willing providers under the new state law. The lawsuit also claims that Catholic doctors and nurse practitioners could be forced to take part in eligibility reviews or make referrals related to assisted suicide.
The plaintiffs also argue that religious institutions could be barred from disciplining employees who share information about assisted suicide against their faith-based policies. They also argue that healthcare providers could be forced to list the patient’s illness as the cause of death instead of the lethal drugs used in assisted suicide.
The Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict face extra burdens because, according to the lawsuit, one of their nursing homes doesn’t qualify for the law’s limited exemptions. As a result, they could be forced to allow both the prescribing and use of lethal drugs inside their facility.
“We are simple nuns whose mission is to serve God – and we do that by offering the aged a home in which to live their final days in peace, tranquility, and comfort, cared for by sisters who see the face of Christ in each person they serve,” Sister Justyna Owsiejko, OSB, said in the official statement. “New York is trying to force us to abandon that vocation and help our residents commit suicide. That is something we will never do. Our foundress overcame war and exile to serve those in need – we will overcome this law to do the same.”
Mother Alice Marie Monica of the Little Sisters of the Poor likewise emphasized that her congregation’s mission is incompatible with the state’s requirements.
Haut du formulaire
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY HEADLINES
Bas du formulaire
“Our calling is to protect and care for needy seniors, not steer them toward suicide,” she said. “We will remain true to that mission, whatever the cost.”
The complaint says New York’s rules violate religious freedom by forcing Catholic ministries to act against their faith. It also claims the law breaches free speech rights because it would force religious carers to provide counseling or referrals for assisted suicide.
READ: Father Ripperger: Mortal sin is worse than demonic possession
The lawsuit explains that the Catholic Church rejects “as a matter of definitive teaching” assisted suicide, considering it as “a crime against human life.” Instead, it states that the sisters seek to accompany patients through natural death while providing compassionate physical, emotional, and spiritual care, “ensuring they are never alone.”
It also underlines that Catholic institutions have served the state’s sick and dying for over a century, tracing that tradition back to 1849, when St. Elizabeth Ann Seton established New York City’s first Catholic hospital during a cholera epidemic. According to the filing, generations of Catholic religious communities have continued that mission by caring for patients regardless of their financial circumstances while treating every person with dignity until natural death.
The case will now proceed in federal court before the law’s scheduled implementation on August 5.
TOPICS
TAGGED AS
- Assisted Suicide
- Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm
- Catholic
- Church
- Diocese Of Rockville Centre
- Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
- Euthanasia
- Free Speech
- John Oliver Barres
- Kathy Hochul
- Little Sisters Of The Poor
- Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict
- New York
- Religious Freedom
