Justice Department supports Dominican Sisters in transgender law dispute

Justice Department Supports Nuns on Transgender Policies

The Justice Department is siding with a group of Catholic nuns who claim that New York City’s transgender regulations could force them into a tough position—having to choose between their religious beliefs and caring for impoverished cancer patients during their final days.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, speaking on behalf of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, stated, “States should remember that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology.”

These Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have been offering free palliative care to the needy for over one hundred years. Dhillon pointed out that the current state law would compel these religious women to pick between their faith and the necessary licenses to continue their important work.

The Dominican Sisters run a facility in Westchester County dedicated to terminally ill cancer patients. They warn that New York’s transgender law could lead to significant penalties, including fines and potential loss of their operating license, should they resist policies around gender identity, pronouns, room assignments, and gender-segregated facilities.

If the facility fails to adhere to these regulations, fines can reach as high as $10,000, alongside the possibility of jail time and loss of professional licenses.

The state’s transgender mandate, termed a “bill of rights for LGBTQIA+ individuals,” was signed into law to prevent discrimination in long-term care facilities based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status, effective November 30, 2023.

The Dominican Sisters feel the law requires them to assign rooms per gender identity rather than biological sex, allow access to restrooms based on gender identity, and promote specific gender ideology training among staff.

In a lawsuit filed on April 6, the sisters emphasized that during a four-year span, the New York State Department of Health had received no complaints about their facility, contrasting sharply with over 55,000 complaints against various other nursing homes in the same timeframe.

Martin Nussbaum, general counsel for the Catholic Welfare Association representing the sisters, expressed concerns that the potential loss of their license affects both their organization and its licensed staff.

Nussbaum also remarked that the formal classification of Hawthorne v. Hochul as a case of ‘general public importance’ signals that the nation’s gender ideology policies shouldn’t override long-standing protections for religious freedom.

In response, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s Press Secretary criticized the notion of the case, suggesting it’s a political maneuver by the Trump administration aimed at undermining opponents in an election year. Hochul asserted that the state’s decisions have been beneficial financially and that legal actions taken were both lawful and justified.