NY Medically Necessary Abortion Coverage Mandate Upheld (1)

New York’s highest court upheld the state’s insurance coverage requirements for medically necessary abortions as constitutional, saying it does not conflict with the First Amendment.

The New York Court of Appeals unanimously agreed the requirements are generally applicable and in line with the court’s 2006 decision in Catholic Charities of Diocese of Albany v. Serio, in which it rejected a similar challenge to a state law that required insurance policies providing prescription coverage to include contraceptive drugs and devices.

The decision in Serio is still “good law,” the court said, disagreeing with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany that ...