WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The U.S. Supreme Court sided on Monday with New York religious organizations challenging a state abortion coverage mandate, tossing a lower court’s ruling and ordering it to reconsider in light of a recent ruling it made for Catholic charities in Wisconsin.

For years, various groups, including the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, have been challenging a New York Department of Financial Services policy that religious entities, including churches, must cover so-called “medically necessary” abortions in employee health insurance plans. Abortion, the destruction of an innocent baby in his or her mother’s womb, is never actually necessary to protect a woman’s life or health.

Last May, the New York Court of Appeals rejected the challenge, prompting the plaintiffs to appeal to the nation’s highest court.

In its June 16 order list, the Supreme Court announced without elaboration that the previous “judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals of New York for further consideration in light of Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Comm’n.”

In that ruling, handed down this February, the court had unanimously determined that Catholic Charities Bureau, an affiliate of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, should not have been denied an exemption from state taxes and faulted the Wisconsin Supreme Court for denying the exemption on the rationale that its work was not primarily religious.

The order does not end the case, but attorney Noel Francisco expressed confidence “that New York will finally get the message and stop discriminating against religious objectors.”

“New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for the great crime of serving all those in need,” said Becket vice president and senior counsel Eric Baxter. “For the second time in four years, the Supreme Court has made clear that bully tactics like these have no place in our nation or our law. We are confident that these religious groups will finally be able to care for the most vulnerable consistent with their beliefs.” 

The Supreme Court has also been asked to hear a case to allow prayer on school loudspeakers before sporting events.