Archbishop Hicks Joins Nuns Against NY Suicide Mandate
Following a July temporary order for religious orders, he asks a court to extend protection to ArchCare hospitals serving dying and disabled patients.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks, the Archdiocese of New York, and the Catholic health care ministry ArchCare have joined a federal lawsuit challenging New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. The case, Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. James, seeks to stop the state from forcing Catholic providers to participate in assisted suicide in violation of their faith.
The suit is brought with four orders of Catholic nuns and other Catholic health ministries. On July 30, New York agreed to a temporary order protecting the nuns and their ministries. Archbishop Hicks is now seeking the same protection for Catholic health care providers within the Archdiocese of New York.
“As Catholics, we are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing,” Archbishop Hicks said. “We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for.”
What the Mandate Would Require
The law could compel these ministries to counsel patients about assisted suicide, help them qualify for lethal drugs, and direct them to providers willing to prescribe those drugs. Those who refuse could face significant fines, loss of professional licenses, and even jail time.
ArchCare operates Mercy Hospital, described as the only fully accredited acute care hospital in the United States devoted exclusively to the palliative care of adult patients with life-limiting illnesses, and Mother Cabrini Hospital, described as the only hospital in New York dedicated to the care of children and young adults with serious developmental disabilities and complex medical needs.
Adele Keim, senior counsel for the ministries, said, “Assisted suicide is completely incompatible with the compassionate care that the Sisters and ArchCare offer.”
Parties and Church Teaching on Life
Counsel represents Archbishop Hicks, the Archdiocese, and ArchCare alongside the Carmelite Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Bishop John O. Barres, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and Catholic Health.
The Church teaches that intentionally ending a human life, even at a patient’s request and in terminal illness, remains a grave offense against the dignity of the person created in the image of God. Catholic health care is ordered to accompany the sick and the dying with true compassion, pain relief, and spiritual care—not to facilitate suicide. The lawsuit asks a federal court to uphold that freedom of conscience for ministries that serve New York’s most vulnerable patients.