The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, a community founded in 1900 and dedicated for more than a century to providing free care to terminally ill cancer patients without resources, are engaged in a legal battle against the State of New York over a gender-identity regulation they consider contrary to their religious freedom. The Donald Trump Administration has now decided to intervene in the proceedings to support the sisters’ position.
The Department of Justice has filed a brief with the court hearing the case in defense of the community, arguing that the State cannot force the sisters to choose between their religious convictions and the license that allows them to continue offering free assistance to people in the final stage of life.
“States should understand that they cannot compel Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of gender ideology,” states the brief submitted by the federal government. According to the Department of Justice, New York’s legislation places the sisters in an unacceptable dilemma: renounce their faith or stop caring for the terminally ill patients they have welcomed for more than a century.
A law the sisters consider incompatible with their faith
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne filed a lawsuit against the State of New York after concluding that the regulations enacted to protect LGTBI individuals in care facilities require them to use the pronouns chosen by patients, assign rooms and allow bathroom use according to declared gender identity, and provide mandatory training on these issues to their employees.
The sisters maintain that these obligations contradict Catholic doctrine on the human person and sexual difference. For that reason, they turned to the federal courts, arguing that the law violates their right to the free exercise of religion.
The community runs the Rosary Hill Home, a hospice located in Westchester County that, since 1901, has provided free care to indigent patients suffering from terminal cancer, offering palliative care and companionship until the end of life.
New York responds to Washington’s intervention
The Trump Administration’s decision to support the sisters has been answered by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has accused the federal government of using the courts for political purposes. Through a spokesperson, she described the Department of Justice’s action as “another sad attempt to weaponize justice” in an election year for the state legislature.
While the proceedings continue, the sisters maintain that they have never discriminated against any patient. According to data provided by the community, between February 2022 and January 2026 no complaints were filed against their residence, compared with more than 55,000 claims lodged against other care facilities in the State.