New York's high court upholds requiring insurance to cover medically necessary abortions

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York can continue to require companies with health insurance plans to cover medically necessary abortions, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other church groups challenged the rule, arguing that the policy's exemption for religious employers was too narrow and would force some businesses to violate their religious freedoms.

State financial regulators approved the policy in 2017. The state Legislature then separately codified the abortion coverage regulation into law in 2022. The religious groups sued over the regulation, not the law.

The Court of Appeals case had larger significance because the state's law could be challenged using a similar legal argument, if the religious groups were successful in their case against the regulation.