A group of nuns in New York has taken legal action to, as the Washington Times reports, “block a New York transgender-rights law that requires nursing homes to use pronouns, assign rooms and allow restroom access based on a patient’s gender identity, or risk jail time.”
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne is an order of nuns who care for indigent terminally ill patients. The order operates the Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, NY.
Read more: https://t.co/lGD8Ezgbfh
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) April 8, 2026
On April 7, the Sisters sued the state in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the state violated their constitutional rights with a new law, established in 2024, called the LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights.
“We Sisters have taken care of patients from all walks of life, ideologies, and faiths. We treat each patient with dignity and Christian charity…We have never had complaints. We cannot implement New York’s mandate without violating our Catholic faith,” Mother Marie Edward, general superior of the Hawthorne Dominicans, said in a statement. The statement continued:
Now, however, the State of New York threatens to shut down the ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, Rosary Hill Home, and the ministry of similar CBA members unless they violate their Catholic faith. New York’s LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights, codified at New York Public Health Law § 2803-c-2, requires long-term care facilities to assign patients to rooms based on their stated “gender identity” rather than biological sex, use patients’ ‘preferred pronouns’ even when the patient is not present, post notices affirming compliance with these requirements, and ensure all staff receive ‘cultural competency’ training indoctrinating them in gender ideology.
Ultimately, the whole mainstreaming of transgenderism is the normalization of a massive lie. Its aim is not to do right by the individuals involved. Rather, making society perpetuate an obvious lie is a hazing mechanism the left uses to demonstrate and solidify its power over everyone, including you and me.
In New York, the Dominican Sisters—who have provided free care to terminally ill cancer patients for decades—have filed a lawsuit against the state after being required to comply with transgender regulations, including using patients’ preferred pronouns and assigning rooms based… pic.twitter.com/ps2luIrdRm
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) April 8, 2026
In its statement, the Order said that New York’s new law exempts facilities operated by the Church of Christ, Scientist, but does not provide the same exemption for Catholic organizations. The Order now says it will face fines, injunctions, a potential loss of licensing, and jail time, all if the nuns stay true to their faith and do not comply with state dictates.
Several news organizations have reached out to the office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on this case but have not received a response.
Keep in mind, Hochul has proudly worn her Catholicism on her sleeve as part of her political identity, but the evil leftist ideology she has embraced has won out every time. She has supported the movement to legalize assisted suicide.
“Catholic” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Moves to Legalize State-Sanctioned Suicide https://t.co/Hncsna0vuX
— Steve Ferguson (@lsferguson) December 18, 2025
A proud Democrat, she supports abortion in all forms, of course.
Three years ago today, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion.
Since then, nineteen states have attacked abortion rights. But not New York. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
When people try to take away our rights, New… pic.twitter.com/zcwdediuGp
— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) June 24, 2025
The Rosary Hill Home is a 42-bed skilled nursing facility that provides palliative care and comfort to poor cancer patients. Both the religious order and Rosary Hill Home do not accept payment for providing care, depending instead on charitable donations.
In its lawsuit, the Order’s claim says that the New York State Department’s training materials “require facilities to ‘create communities’ that affirm patients’ sexual preferences and ‘accommodate patients’ desire for extramarital relations,’ unless such conduct is banned across the board.”
The iron-fisted law requires long-term nursing facilities to post a notice that assures the public that they do not discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or HIV status, and that every two years, employees go through “cultural competency training.” If they don’t comply, they will get hit with major consequences, which, according to the Washington Times, include “fines of up to $2,000 for the first violation and up to $5,000 for repeat violations. Those engaging in ‘willful violations’ of public health law are punishable by fines of up to $10,000 or one year in prison, or both.”
On March 5, the Catholic Benefits Association (CBA), which provides support to the Sisters, said “it sent a request to the state March 5 seeking a religious exemption for the organization but has not received a response.”
Under the Trump administration, the transgender circus throughout society has abated, but this case is a good indicator that it has not gone away. At every opportunity, the left will continue to push this lie and force each and every one of us to accept it, if need be. Even if it means making an example of a group of nuns whose only reason for existing is to help poor, dying cancer patients.
Related: Trump Proposes ‘Massive’ NIH and NSF Budget Cuts: Health and Science Bureaucrats Hardest Hit
Find out what you’re missing behind the members-only wall. It’s time for you to take advantage of the full catalogue of common sense thinking that comes with a PJ Media VIP membership. You’ll get access to content you didn’t even know you wanted, and you’ll be hooked. The good news is, PJ Media VIP memberships are on sale! Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off an annual VIP, VIP Gold, or VIP Platinum membership!
