The Archbishop of New York joined four orders of Catholic nuns and a few Catholic healthcare ministries in a lawsuit against the state of New York’s assisted suicide mandate that forces healthcare providers to take part in helping terminal patients kill themselves.

Archbishop of New York Ronald Hicks told The Center Square: “As Catholics, we are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing.”

“We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for,” Hicks said.

The lawsuit in question concerns New York state’s assisted suicide mandate that requires healthcare providers to present patients with the option of assisted suicide when giving a terminal diagnosis; to help patients find a provider for the prescription needed to kill oneself; and to state on the death certificate that a patient using assisted suicide died as a result of their terminal illness rather than drugs, as Ben Fleshman, Counsel at Becket, explained.

Becket is the nonprofit law firm representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. James.

Fleshman told The Center Square that the only religious or conscience “exemptions” in New York’s assisted suicide program are that “if you're a religious hospital or a religious provider, you can refuse to prescribe the drugs or allow patients to self-administer on your premises.”

The Carmelite Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Bishop John O. Barres, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Health and now Archbishop Ronald Hicks, the Archdiocese of New York and Catholic health ministry ArchCare are fighting for what they said is their right to “minister to the elderly, the sick, and people who are dying” without violating their religious beliefs, Fleshman said.

According to Becket, New York agreed to an order on July 30 “that temporarily protects the nuns and ministries” from the state’s mandate. Archbishop Hicks is now “seeking the same protection for the Catholic healthcare providers within the Archdiocese of New York.”

Fleshman said that the danger of forcing healthcare providers to go against their religious convictions is twofold.

For one, “it sets a precedent” that doctors, nurses and those on the front lines of patient care must “do whatever the state wants them to do, even if that violates their religious belief and their deeply held conscience,” Fleshman said.

Second, sick and diseased patients in New York will be negatively impacted, especially disadvantaged ones.

Fleshman said that if healthcare providers are required to violate their religious beliefs for work, these institutions will be forced to stop providing the care they feel called to.

“You risk pushing out really valuable healthcare ministries that provide a lot of care for people that are vulnerable,” Fleshman said. The ill will be forced to find care elsewhere, but “there’s not an infrastructure there that’s ready to take them in,” Fleshman said.

Fleshman said the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne is dedicated to people with incurable cancer and only take those in “who can’t afford other options,” or who don’t have health insurance and can’t pay elsewhere.

“It would be a real loss for that just to go away,” Fleshman said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James' office referred The Center Square to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.

“While we cannot comment on any pending litigation, under this historic legislation participation is entirely voluntary, and religious facilities have the right to opt out if they choose to do so,” a spokesman for the governor said.

“What this law does is allow terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live to make a voluntary, informed decision, it reflects years of thoughtful planning and consideration,” the spokesman said.

Senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the healthcare ministries Adele Keim said in a statement that “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,” Keim said.

Neither Archcare, Catholic Health, Bishop Barres, or the Diocese of Rockville Centre were able to provide comment to The Center Square by publishing time. When the Archdiocese of New York was reached, The Center Square was put in touch with Becket.