New York State Court of Appeals upholds contraceptive coverage law

The New York State Court of Appeals on Thursday voted 6-0 to uphold rulings by the New York Supreme Court and the Appellate Division to leave intact a state law that requires employers -- including the Roman Catholic Church and other religious organizations -- who offer prescription drug plans to provide coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives for women, the New York Times reports (Lueck, New York Times, 10/20).

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in January voted 3-2 to uphold the Women's Health and Wellness Act -- which was signed by Gov. George Pataki (R) in September 2002 and took effect on Jan. 1, 2003 -- that also requires employers to expand coverage for screenings and treatments for breast cancer, cervical cancer and osteoporosis. Religious or faith-based organizations can be exempted from offering contraceptive coverage under the regulation only if they primarily employ and serve members of that faith. The law does not exempt some Roman Catholic groups because their activities are not considered to be religious. In December 2002, a coalition of Catholic and Protestant institutions in New York, including state Roman Catholic bishops, filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court to block the bill. The New York Supreme Court in Albany voted to uphold the law. The Appellate Court panel also upheld the law, saying that it does not violate state or federal constitutions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/17).

Ruling Details

The plaintiffs "believe contraception to be sinful," the Court of Appeals said in its ruling, adding, "We must weigh against (their) interests in adhering to the tenets of their faith the state's substantial interest in fostering equality between the sexes, and in providing women with better health care" (Gormley, AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/19). In the 18-page decision, the judges also said that state legislators had intended the 2002 law to "advance both women's health and the equal treatment of men and women." They wrote that a study reviewed by the state Legislature had shown that compared with men, women paid 68% more out-of-pocket for health care, which primarily went to paying for reproductive health services, the Times reports. The court said that when the law was written, some legislators pushed for expanding the exemption for religious or faith-based organizations. However, "[t]hose favoring a narrower exemption asserted that the broader one would deprive tens of thousands of women employed by church-affiliated organizations of contraceptive coverage," the court said in its ruling.

Reaction, Next Steps

Richard Barnes, the New York Catholic Conference's executive director, said, "The case is not about the right of New Yorkers to use contraception; it is about religious liberty. In effect, the state has declared Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable organizations secular," adding that the ruling gave state legislators "carte blanche to pass laws even more offensive to religious practice." JoAnn Smith -- president of Family Planning Advocates of New York State, which represents Planned Parenthood Federation of America and other family planning groups -- said, "This is a great day for the women of New York state," adding, "The urgent need to prevent discrimination in health care was rightly, and unanimously, affirmed by the highest court in the state" (New York Times, 10/20). "We think this has never really been about contraception, we think it was to target the church and open the door for coverage of abortion," Dennis Poust, spokesperson for the Catholic Conference, said (New York Post, 10/20). According to Kelli Conlin, president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, the ruling "shows that no one is above the law, including the Catholic bishops" (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/19). The New York State Catholic Conference said it would consider appealing the ruling, which is similar to a 2004 decision by the California Supreme Court in which the court rejected a challenge to a similar state statute, to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Times reports. Catholic Charities in the 2004 California appeal was denied a U.S. Supreme Court hearing (New York Times, 10/20).