Critical meeting convened on NY Gov. Hochul health care case 

I just returned from a critically important meeting with the U.S. solicitor general’s office regarding our case Does v. Hochul, in which we are suing New York Governor Kathy Hochul for forcing health care employers to deny all religious exemptions from the COVID shots. 

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the U.S. solicitor general’s office to file a brief to present the position of the United States as the High Court considers if it will take up this case. This is a very important development. If the solicitor general requests the Court to take up this case, we will submit briefs and argue before the High Court this year. 

Yesterday, a team of our attorneys and I had a meeting in Washington, D.C., at the Department of Justice. We met with the U.S. solicitor general’s office, as well as legal representatives from the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Health and Human Servies. They asked hard questions about this case, and soon, they will meet with the opposition as they prepare to file their brief.  

Pray that the U.S. solicitor general’s office will file a brief in favor of religious liberty and that the U.S. Supreme Court will review this very important case.

Don’t let governors violate federal law and constitutional religious freedom rights! Fund our case against NY Gov. Hochul now, and a special 2026 Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift!

This new development builds off of the Supreme Court’s move last month ... and the momentum keeps growing!

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition, vacated the judgment, and remanded Miller v. McDonald back down to the lower courts to review in light of the High Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a parental rights case. The implications of this order are staggering — in the best possible way! 

In Miller v. McDonald, the State of New York refused to grant vaccine religious exemptions to an Amish community in which Amish children were educated in their own private Amish school, taught solely by Amish teachers, on the Amish community’s own private land. Much like in our case, New York recognized medical exemptions but not religious exemptions. 

New York’s action in Miller is the same religious discrimination we are fighting in our case, Does v. Hochul, where Christians were unlawfully denied their federal religious exemption rights under Title VII, and subsequently lost their jobs over their religious beliefs. 

But here’s what is interesting. On its face, Mahmoud v. Taylor, which the High Court decided earlier this year, was about a parent’s right to exempt their child from LGBTQ indoctrination. But, in ordering the lower court to reconsider the Miller case in light of Mahmoud, the Court is signaling that Mahmoud was not only about LGBTQ indoctrination or even public schools. 

The High Court is sending a message that parental rights based on religious free exercise are broader than the facts in Mahmoud. Moreover, the right to free exercise of religion is also broader than parental rights. The implications of the Amish case and our Does case are far reaching. 

Certainly, because Miller v. McDaniel is, on its face, about New York’s unlawful revocation of religious exemptions for vaccines, the High Court’s remand here is highly favorable for Does v. Hochul, our New York health care workers case.  

Liberty Counsel is on a winning streak at the U.S. Supreme Court. But we need your direct financial support to keep the victories coming! Support our legal fund, and our 2026 Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your tax-deductible gift!

Don’t let woke politicians ROB Christians of their religious freedom RIGHTS!

SCOTUS’ move on Miller is not the end of the story. We still have to make these arguments to the High Court in Does v. Hochul if the Court decides to review our case this term — and we cannot do that without YOU. 

Liberty Counsel has won 40 cases in which we have argued or briefed before the U.S. Supreme Court and thousands more in the lower courts. We NEVER charge our clients because we know most people could never afford to defend their rights all the way up to the highest Court in the land. 

Our clients rely on YOU, the faithful Liberty Counsel supporter, who always makes sure our legal fund is full so that we can defend religious freedom for generations to come. DOUBLE YOUR GIFT with our Challenge Grant.