Catholic nuns sue New York over trans nursing home law, face jail time

Catholic nuns who have cared for the dying poor for more than a century are suing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, saying a new state law could force them to choose between their faith and mission or face fines, loss of license and even prison time.

“We are consecrated religious Sisters and we have one mission,” Sister Marie Edward, OP, told Fox News Digital. he said. “To provide comfort and quality care to people dying of cancer who cannot afford nursing care. We do not receive insurance or government funds or money from our patients or their families. The care is completely free.”

“We are supported by the kindness of our philanthropists,” he continued. “We do this regardless of race, religion or gender. We do this because Jesus taught us that when the least among us is sick, we should care for them as if they were Jesus himself.”

legally signed On Nov. 30, 2023, the “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and persons living with HIV long-term care facility residents’ bill of rights” prohibits long-term care facilities and staff from “discriminating against any resident based on a resident’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or HIV status.”

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The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who operate the Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York, filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the law, which they say would require them to assign rooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex; allow access to bathrooms of the opposite sex; allow for expression, relationships, and identity practices; use preferred pronouns; requiring staff to receive training on gender ideology; and issue a public notice stating compliance with the law.

“New York’s gender ideology rules not only violate our Catholic values, they threaten our existence with fines, injunctions, license revocation, and even imprisonment. That’s why we had to go to court to ask for protection of our religious practices and freedom of expression so that we can continue our ministry to the poor,” Edward told Fox News Digital.

A. Press release The New York State Department of Health sent the first of a series of “Dear Administrator” letters to Hawthorne Dominicans’ Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed facility, on March 18, 2024, an official with the Catholic Aid Society said.

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A Dominican Sister from Hawthorne feeds a resident. (Dominican Brothers of Hawthorne)

The letters outlined New York’s demands and included an educational curriculum that “required the sisters to bring patient care and the education of their sisters and staff into line with the State’s gender ideology.”

If the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne fail to comply, they face fines of up to $2,000 per violation (which can go up to $5,000), mandatory court-ordered compliance, loss of license, up to one year in prison, and fines of up to $10,000.

The sisters highlighted in their lawsuit that during the four-year reporting period from Feb. 1, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2026, the New York State Department of Health received “zero complaints” from residents of Rosary Hill Home, compared with “more than 55,000 complaints against other nursing homes,” with an average of 23 citations issued per facility during the same period.

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A Dominican Sister from Hawthorne sits with a resident. (Dominican Brothers of Hawthorne)

In the press release, Rosary Hill Home Administrator Sister Stella Mary, OP said: “Our founder, Sister Alphonsa Hawthorne, charged us to minister to those who would ‘pass from one life to another’ and to make them ‘as comfortable and happy as if their own people had kept them and put them in the best bedroom.’ “We intend to continue to fulfill this sacred obligation, but to do so we need the Court’s assistance.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment and was directed to a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health: “While the Department does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, the NYS Department of Health is committed to following state laws that provide nursing home residents with certain rights that protect against discrimination, including but not limited to gender identity or expression.”

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A Dominican Sister from Hawthorne hugs a resident. (Dominican Brothers of Hawthorne)