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New York Wants to Jail Nuns Who Care for Dying Cancer Patients for Free

Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne face prison for refusing New York gender identity mandate at their free cancer hospice serving the dying poor.

Michael Ringer

Michael Ringer

— 3 min read
Dominican Sister sharing a tender moment with a terminally ill resident at Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne New York

New York Threatens to Jail Catholic Nuns Who Care for Dying Cancer Patients Over Gender Identity Mandate

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, a Catholic religious order that has provided free hospice care to terminally ill cancer patients for 125 years, filed a lawsuit on April 6, 2026, against the state of New York over a gender identity mandate that could force them to shut down or face prison time.

The lawsuit targets a law signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on November 30, 2023, titled the "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long term care facility residents' bill of rights." The law requires nursing homes to assign rooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex, grant access to opposite sex bathrooms, use preferred pronouns, and train all staff in the state's gender identity framework.

The sisters operate Rosary Hill Home, a 42 bed skilled nursing facility in Hawthorne, New York. Since its founding in 1900 by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, daughter of celebrated novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, the facility has never charged a single patient for care. The sisters depend entirely on charitable donations.

We are consecrated religious Sisters and have one mission. It is to provide comfort and skilled care to persons dying of cancer who cannot afford nursing care.

Mother Marie Edward, O.P.

Mother Marie Edward stated that "New York's gender ideology mandates not only violate our Catholic values, they threaten our existence with fines, injunctions, license revocation, and even jail time."

If the Dominican Sisters do not comply, they face fines of $2,000 to $5,000 per violation, court ordered forced compliance, revocation of their nursing license, and up to one year in prison with fines up to $10,000.

Sister Stella Mary, O.P., the administrator of Rosary Hill Home, noted that their foundress "charged us to serve those who are 'to pass from one life to another.'"

During the four year reporting period from February 2022 through January 2026, the New York State Department of Health received zero complaints from Rosary Hill Home residents. By comparison, other nursing homes across the state received more than 55,000 complaints in the same period.

Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne Face Prison for Refusing to Abandon Catholic Teaching in Their Own Hospice

Dominican Sister in white habit tending to an elderly cancer patient at Rosary Hill Home hospice in Hawthorne New York

The Catholic Benefits Association is supporting the sisters in their legal challenge. A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health responded only that the department "is committed to following state law, which provides nursing home residents certain rights protecting against discrimination including, but not limited to, gender identity or expression."

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be blunt. The state of New York wants to imprison nuns who have spent 125 years caring for dying cancer patients free of charge. Not a single complaint in four years. Zero. Meanwhile the rest of New York's nursing homes racked up 55,000 complaints.

This is not about protecting anyone. This is about punishing faithful Christians who refuse to bow to ideology. Governor Hochul would rather shut down a hospice for the dying poor than allow Catholic sisters to live by their vows. The cruelty is the point.

Ask yourself: would New York dare force an Islamic charity to violate its religious convictions? We all know the answer. Christianity is the only faith the state feels comfortable persecuting. These sisters serve the least of these, the forgotten, the dying, the destitute, and their reward is the threat of a jail cell. God will not forget what New York is doing to His servants.

Take Action

  • Contact Governor Kathy Hochul's office at (518) 474 8390 and demand a religious exemption for the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne.
  • Support the Catholic Benefits Association, which is backing the sisters' legal fight, at catholicbenefitsassociation.org.
  • Share this story on social media and with your church community. The Dominican Sisters have zero complaints in four years. The public needs to know.
  • Pray for the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and all religious communities facing government overreach.
  • Support persecuted Christians worldwide through www.TheShepherdsShield.org.
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