New York's high court hears case on abortion insurance coverage

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s highest court took up a case Tuesday that seeks to throw out a regulation requiring health insurance policies to cover medically necessary abortions — a lawsuit that could jeopardize a similar state law.

The challenge was filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other church groups that argue the rule violates their religious beliefs.

State financial regulators approved the abortion coverage requirement in 2017, and the Legislature codified it into law in 2022.

The religious groups are only challenging the state’s regulation, not the law, meaning the coverage will remain in place regardless of the outcome.

But if the Court of Appeals throws out the rule, attorneys in the case said the law could then be challenged using a similar argument, giving the case larger implications for abortion access in New York.

The rule does include a religious exemption, and short arguments in the case on Tuesday revolved around whether the exemptions give too much latitude to officials to determine which organizations wouldn't need to follow the requirement.