A small community of Dominican nuns who run Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne is taking New York to federal court after state health officials warned that long-term care rules require facilities to honor residents’ stated gender identities. That includes pronouns, room assignments and restroom access, even when those practices clash with the sisters’ Catholic beliefs. The 42-bed hospice says enforcement could expose them to fines, loss of licensing and even criminal penalties for staff, and the lawsuit asks a judge to stop the state from forcing the nuns to speak or act in ways they say would violate their faith.
The complaint, filed April 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, names Gov. Kathy Hochul and several state health officials as defendants, according to Justia Dockets & Filings. Court records attached to the filing include three “Dear Administrator” letters that the sisters say came from the New York State Department of Health in March 2024 and afterwards. The sisters’ legal team says they requested a religious exemption in early March and went to court after receiving no response, according to a press release from the Catholic Benefits Association.
What the law requires
The disputed policy stems from a 2023 measure that created a long-term care “bill of rights” that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status, according to the New York State Senate. The bill, S1783A/A372A, requires facilities to record preferred names and pronouns, allow residents to use rooms and restrooms consistent with their gender identity, and post non-discrimination notices. It took effect 180 days after the governor signed it.
State guidance and an online training course outline how facilities are expected to comply, including recurring cultural-competency training for staff, as explained by LeadingAge NY.
Sisters' legal argument
The Dominican Sisters say that following the rules would force them to affirm a view of gender that contradicts Catholic teaching and would disrupt ordinary care routines, from how caregivers address residents to who can share a room. In coverage of the filing, the National Catholic Register quoted Mother Marie Edward as saying, “We cannot implement New York's mandate without violating our Catholic faith.”
State response
The Department of Health declined to comment on ongoing litigation but told Religion News Service that it is committed to following state law that protects residents from discrimination. The sisters’ complaint points to Department of Health letters that warned administrators not to limit residents’ association with others or deny room or restroom access based on a resident’s gender identity, and those letters are now part of the court record.
Legal stakes and next steps
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to block enforcement on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds, arguing that the law compels speech and burdens the sisters’ free-exercise rights, according to the court filing. If the court declines to halt enforcement, the suit says state actions could include fines, licensing sanctions and criminal penalties for willful violations, consequences the nuns say would jeopardize their ministry, according to the Catholic Benefits Association.
Rosary Hill Home's history
Rosary Hill Home is a 42-bed Catholic palliative care facility founded in 1901 by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, daughter of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, that serves impoverished people dying of cancer, according to the order's website. The order and its lawyers say the home has operated quietly for more than a century and that the state’s letters and training requirements have landed as a sudden and practical threat to the way the sisters provide care, a point they underscore in the legal filing and in press accounts.
Why the case matters
Legal observers say the case slots into a wider national fight over how far religious institutions must go in following anti-discrimination rules, with similar clashes involving religious employers and health mandates already reaching higher courts. The lawsuit is still at the starting line, with the complaint filed on April 6, and the next moves will unfold in federal court as both sides push for a ruling on whether the sisters can keep serving under their faith-based practices while complying with state policy.
