Amici Curiae Brief for Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v Lacewell NY State Department of Financial Services (2021)

This is an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief filed by several religious organizations, including the USCCB, and other faith groups, supporting the petitioners in Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v Lacewell NY State Department of Financial Services, May 26, 2021.

The case challenges a regulation requiring employer-sponsored health insurance plans to cover abortions deemed "medically necessary." The regulation provides only a narrow exemption for certain religious employers, excluding many religious charities, schools, and service organizations.

Religious Autonomy Is Constitutionally Protected

• The brief argues that the First Amendment protects religious organizations' ability to govern their own affairs without government interference.
• It relies on Supreme Court precedents recognizing church autonomy in matters of doctrine, governance, mission, and administration.

New York's Abortion Mandate Violates Religious Autonomy

• Religious organizations that view abortion as morally wrong are compelled to purchase insurance covering abortion procedures.
• The brief contends this forces religious institutions to subsidize and facilitate conduct they sincerely oppose on religious grounds. 

The Religious Exemption Is Too Narrow

• To qualify, organizations must primarily inculcate religious values, employ people sharing their faith, and serve mostly co-religionists.
• The brief argues these requirements unfairly exclude many religious charities and ministries that serve the broader public.

Exemption Criteria Create Excessive Government Entanglement

• The State must determine whether an organization is sufficiently religious and whether it qualifies annually for the exemption.
• The brief argues that such inquiries improperly involve government in religious questions, violating the Establishment Clause.

Abortion Precedents Do Not Require the Mandate

• The brief maintains that Supreme Court abortion cases do not require states to fund or subsidize abortion.
• Therefore, New York could have accommodated religious objections without conflicting with constitutional abortion rights jurisprudence.

The amici warn that if the decision stands, other states may adopt similar mandates, increasing government control over religious institutions and weakening constitutional protections for religious autonomy. They emphasize that many religious organizations depend on autonomy protections to carry out their missions and express their faith consistently.

The amici urge the Supreme Court to review the case and invalidate New York's abortion coverage mandate and its restrictive religious exemption, arguing that both violate the First Amendment's protection of religious autonomy.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v Lacewell NY State Department of Financial Services