In a unanimous decision on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court directed New York’s highest court to revisit its ruling that upheld a state law requiring religious employers to include abortion coverage in their health insurance plans.

The unsigned opinion in Diocese of Albany v. Harris instructs the New York Court of Appeals to reconsider the case in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, which bolstered First Amendment protections for religious organizations under the Free Exercise Clause.

The dispute involves a coalition of Catholic and Anglican nuns, dioceses, churches, and faith-based nonprofits that have been fighting New York’s 2017 abortion coverage mandate for years. These groups argue that the law compels them to act against their core beliefs about the sanctity of human life.

“When New York created this abortion mandate, it said it would protect religious groups,” said religious liberty attorney Lori Windham. “But religious ministries that serve all people, regardless of faith, were left out. Not even Jesus, Mother Teresa, or Mahatma Gandhi would qualify for New York’s stingy definition of religious freedom.”

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The state’s original law included only a narrow exemption—limited to religious entities that employ and serve mostly people of the same faith. This effectively excluded ministries that provide essential services such as food, housing, and support to the general public, including individuals of different faiths or no faith at all.

In 2021, the Supreme Court had already asked New York courts to reconsider the abortion mandate in light of its ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia, which found that government actions burdening religious exercise must undergo strict scrutiny. However, the New York Court of Appeals declined to reverse its position, leading to this renewed and more direct instruction from the Supreme Court.

The new order mandates that New York judges now apply strict scrutiny to the abortion mandate. Under this standard, the state must demonstrate that the law serves a compelling government interest and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest without unnecessarily infringing upon religious liberty. This reflects the Court’s approach in the Wisconsin decision, which warned against the government favoring some religious expressions while punishing others.

“For the second time, the Supreme Court has kept alive efforts by nuns and religious organizations to serve all those in need, without being forced into paying for abortions,” Windham wrote on X. “It’s time for New York to take the hint.”

This decision adds to a growing series of Supreme Court rulings that expand protections for religious liberty. It follows a line of cases including repeated wins for the Little Sisters of the Poor, who spent over a decade contesting federal contraceptive coverage mandates and consistently prevailed on the grounds that religious groups cannot be forced to compromise their beliefs.

Now, the New York Court of Appeals must reconsider the abortion coverage requirement using the stricter legal framework. If it upholds the mandate again, the case could return to the U.S. Supreme Court for a potentially broader and precedent-setting ruling.

For the moment, however, the Supreme Court’s order represents a significant victory for religious ministries and a notable milestone for those seeking to challenge government mandates that conflict with religious conscience.