SCOTUS asks US solicitor general to respond in Liberty Counsel's NY health care case

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul ran Christians out of business over their faith. Liberty Counsel is taking her to the US Supreme Court.

For 50 years, Pinecrest Home for Adults served as a place where patients and staff could live out their Christian witness during the twilight of precious patients’ lives. But then NY Gov. Kathy Hochul FORCED THEM TO CLOSE specifically because of their Christian faith.

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Last FRIDAY, the U.S. Supreme Court met in conference on our case, Does v. NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, for the seventh time. This time, instead of relisting it for yet another conference, the High Court took another step, which I believe bodes well for our case.

On MONDAY, the Justices asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on the position of the United States. Historically, the High Court asks for the solicitor general’s views if the issue affects the scope of federal law, in this case, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its protections against religious discrimination in the workplace. If the solicitor general agrees that the High Court should review this case, then the Court will almost certainly schedule this case for briefing oral arguments. This is a huge development.

The Christian environment is the ENTIRE reason both patients and staff chose Pinecrest Home for Adults, a round-the-clock skilled nursing home in New York. Staff and patients worshipped and prayed together daily, behaving more like a family than a mere medical center.

Peter Hanan, who ran Pinecrest, was told he and his staff must violate their religious convictions or lose their jobs and business licenses. Despite clear federal protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, NY Gov. Hochul ordered employers like Pinecrest to deny ALL religious exemptions to the COVID shot — or face daily fines, license revocation, and forced closure.

Peter and the Pinecrest board of directors refused to force their employees to violate their Christian convictions against taking an untested, abortion-linked, and now-proven-dangerous shot. Not only would such an action be in violation of federal Title VII religious freedom law, it also went against everything this Christian business stood for over 50 years.

Gov. Hochul ran them out of business over their faith...

Hochul’s shot mandate REQUIRED business owners to violate their Christian employee’s state, federal and constitutional rights, or be slapped with massive fines AND lose their license to operate a business.

Peter met with the board of directors for guidance. They refused to force their employees to violate their Christian beliefs. Pinecrest could not afford to pay the crushing 1,000-dollar-per-employee, per-day fines Hochul was leveling against businesses that obeyed federal Title VII religious freedom rights. Furthermore, Pinecrest could no longer operate without a NY business license. With heavy hearts, Peter and the Pinecrest board of directors found they had no other choice but to close their doors.

What NY Gov. Kathy Hochul did to Pinecrest and Christian employers and employees throughout the state is a direct violation of constitutional rights and crystal-clear federal law.

Thousands of health care workers were fired for refusing the shot on religious grounds. Hochul allowed medical exemptions — but unlawfully banned religious exemptions.

Five years after the COVID crisis, New York Governor Kathy Hochul is still trampling religious freedom. She refuses to accept clear federal law and enumerated constitutional rights that guarantee religious freedom. This is not just about COVID anymore. It’s about whether any state can override federal law and force citizens to violate their deeply held religious beliefs.

If Hochul’s actions go unchecked, any state could revoke federal and constitutional religious freedom rights at will.

We cannot allow that to happen. Help us stop NY Gov. Kathy Hochul — and all other abusers of religious freedom — in their tracks. We need YOUR support as we prepare for the next stages of litigation.

Over the last 36 years, Liberty Counsel has won 40 U.S. Supreme Court cases we have argued or briefed and thousands more cases in the lower courts. Liberty Counsel never charges clients for legal representation. We rely on generous supporters like you — and right now, a special Year-End Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of every donation.

Please give today and stand with us in this critical battle.