Editorial Note – Samantha Hodgson

 

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has taken part in her first abortion related case since her joining SCOTUS. Her decision formed part of the majority who provided little reason for their grant of the Governments application for stay. Chief Justice Roberts, concurring in the grant of application for stay, said that the question here was not whether the FDA imposed an undue burden on those seeking abortion medication, but whether the district court correctly ordered the FDA to lift the requirement for women to continue obtaining the drug mifepristone in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Justice Roberts said that the ruling of the majority was one that deferred to the view of experts.

Justice Sotomayor formed the dissenting opinion for which Justice Kagan joined. Justice Breyer would deny the application for stay. Justice Sotomayor argues that the government did not meet the exceptional standard of proof required to grant an application for stay and that the FDA did in fact place an undue burden on women seeking abortion medication during the COVID-19 Pandemic.