The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, operators of Rosary Hill Home in Westchester County, have found themselves at the center of a contentious legal battle with New york state. The dispute revolves around a 2026 law aimed at protecting transgender residents in long-term care facilities, which the sisters argue infringes upon their religious beliefs.

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently intervened in the lawsuit, siding with the sisters and highlighting the broader implications of the case for religious freedom across the nation.

The Legal Dispute: Religious Beliefs vs. Transgender Rights

The heart of the matter lies in a New York law that mandates long-term care facilities to protect residents from discrimination based on gender identity or expression and to accommodate residents consistent with their gender identity. The law, known as the Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and People Living with HIV, took effect on May 28, 2026.

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who operate Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed palliative care program for indigent cancer patients, filed a lawsuit on April 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The sisters argue that complying with the law would force them to choose between their faith and their license to continue serving the dying.

The Sisters’ Stance

The sisters’ legal team, led by the Idaho-based law firm First & Fourteenth, contends that the law violates the sisters’ religious freedom. They argue that the mandate to use preferred pronouns and assign rooms based on gender identity contradicts the sisters’ sincerely held religious beliefs and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

In their lawsuit, the sisters state that ‘Transgender medicine can change surface appearance but never sex’. They further argue that requiring them to identify residents by a sex other than their biological one would compel them to act against their faith and harm the most vulnerable.

The State’s Response

The New York State Department of Health has reiterated its commitment to enforcing the law. A spokesperson for the department, John Emery, stated that the agency stands by the law, which provides nursing home residents with certain rights protecting against discrimination, including gender identity or expression.

The state is expected to ask the court to dismiss the suit, maintaining that the law is essential for protecting the rights of transgender residents in long-term care facilities.

The Department of Justice’s Intervention

On June 18, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its intention to intervene in the lawsuit in support of the sisters’ claims. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated that ‘States should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology’.

The Justice Department’s intervention underscores the broader implications of the case. L. Martin Nussbaum, a senior partner in First & Fourteenth, told OSV News that the department’s focus will be on New York’s violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by discriminating against religion and between religions.

Broader Implications

The case is not an isolated incident but part of a larger legal landscape involving transgender rights in New York. Earlier this year, a group of transgender New Yorkers and their families sued several health care institutions, alleging that the hospitals shared information about minors who received gender-affirming care with the Trump administration.

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne’s legal battle highlights the complex interplay between religious freedom and transgender rights. As the case unfolds, it is likely to have significant implications for both religious institutions and transgender individuals in long-term care facilities.