Overview
- U.S. District Judge Anne Nardacci approved a consent order announced July 30 that temporarily bars New York from requiring the named Catholic orders and ministries to perform certain Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) counseling or referral duties while their First Amendment suit moves forward.
- New York agreed to the narrow temporary arrangement, but the MAID statute passed in February remains in effect for other providers and state rulemaking and enforcement will continue under the court’s briefing schedule.
- The plaintiffs say the law’s implementation forces objecting institutions to inform patients about MAID and to refer them to providers who will facilitate access, and they warn that noncompliance could bring fines, licensing discipline, or criminal exposure.
- The suit was filed by several Catholic communities and health ministries, including the Little Sisters of the Poor and Catholic Health, and is being litigated by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of the orders and Bishop John Barres.
- The case could shape how states balance patient access to MAID—limited to terminal adults under the law’s safeguards—and conscience protections for faith-based caregivers, with possible further appeals and policy effects on how hospitals and long-term care sites handle end‑of‑life referrals.