Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2022) 1 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH, ET AL. 

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS 

No. 21–962. Decided January 20, 2022 

The petition for a writ of mandamus is denied. 

JUSTICE BREYER, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and 

JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting from denial of mandamus. 

In Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 595 U. S. ___ 

(2021), this Court was clear. We said: “[E]ight Justices hold 

this case may proceed past the motion to dismiss stage

against Mr. Carlton, Ms. Thomas, Ms. Benz, and Ms. 

Young,” the state licensing-official defendants. Id., at ___ 

(slip op., at 17). When the mandate issued, I had thought 

that the Court of Appeals would quickly remand the case to 

the District Court so that it could reach the merits and enter relief consistent with our ruling. After all, 

“[w]hatever was before the Court, and is disposed of, is

considered as finally settled. The inferior court is 

bound by the decree as the law of the case; and must

carry it into execution, according to the mandate. They

cannot vary it, or examine it for any other purpose than

execution; or give any other or further relief; or review 

it upon any matter decided on appeal for error apparent; or intermeddle with it, further than to settle so 

much as has been remanded.” Sibbald v. United 

States, 12 Pet. 488, 492 (1838). 

Instead, the Court of Appeals ignored our judgment. It 

kept the case and certified questions about the licensingofficial defendants to the Texas Supreme Court. See Whole 

Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 2022 WL 142193, ___ F. 4th 

___ (CA5 2022). As a result, an unconstitutional 6-week 

abortion ban remains in effect in Texas—as it has for over 
 

2 IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

four months. For these reasons, as elaborated by JUSTICE 

SOTOMAYOR, I would grant the writ petitioners seek. 

I respectfully dissent. 
 

Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2022) 1 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH, ET AL. 

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS 

No. 21–962. Decided January 20, 2022

 JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE BREYER and 

JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting from denial of mandamus. 

It has been over four months since Texas Senate Bill 8 

(S. B. 8) took effect. The law immediately devastated access 

to abortion care in Texas through a complicated privatebounty-hunter scheme that violates nearly 50 years of this

Court’s precedents. Today, for the fourth time, this Court

declines to protect pregnant Texans from egregious violations of their constitutional rights.1 One month after directing that the petitioners’ suit could proceed in part, the

Court countenances yet another violation of its own commands. Instead of stopping a Fifth Circuit panel from indulging Texas’ newest delay tactics, the Court allows the 

State yet again to extend the deprivation of the federal constitutional rights of its citizens through procedural manipulation. The Court may look the other way, but I cannot. 

I 

S. B. 8 amounts to a ban on abortion care after six weeks 

from the last menstrual period, before many women realize

they are pregnant. See Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 

594 U. S. ___, ___ (2021) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting) (slip

op., at 1) (Whole Woman’s Health I). The law authorizes 

any person—regardless of relationship (or lack thereof ) to 

the woman, provider, or procedure at issue—to sue, for at 

least $10,000, anyone who provides abortion care, assists in 

—————— 1 See Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 595 U. S. ___, ___–___ (2021) 

(SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting); United States v. Texas, 595 U. S. ___, ___– 

___ (2021) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting); Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 594 U. S. ___, ___–___ (2021) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting). 
 

 

 

 

2 IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

the provision of such care, or intends to assist in the provision of such care after embryonic cardiac activity is detectable. See Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 595 U. S. ___, 

___–___ (2021) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting) (slip op., at 2– 

3) (Whole Woman’s Health II). This structure was designed 

to make it more complicated for courts to enjoin the law’s 

enforcement on a statewide basis. See Whole Woman’s 

Health I, 594 U. S., at ___–___ (slip op., at 2–3). To maximize the burden of being sued, S. B. 8 also modifies the default rules of procedure to an extraordinary extent. See 

Whole Woman’s Health II, 595 U. S., at ___–___ (slip op., at 

3–4).

The petitioners, abortion providers and advocates, challenged S. B. 8 in the Western District of Texas. The defendants, including several state medical licensing officials, 

moved to dismiss the case. After this Court twice declined 

to block S. B. 8 from taking effect, it granted certiorari before judgment to decide whether the case could proceed. 

Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 595 U. S. ___ (2021). 

“[S]tand[ing] in the shoes of the Court of Appeals,” this 

Court “review[ed] the defendants’ appeals challenging the 

District Court’s order denying their motions to dismiss.” 

Whole Woman’s Health II, 595 U. S., at ___ (opinion of the 

Court) (slip op., at 4). The Court held suit could not proceed 

against some defendants. Id., at ___–___ (slip op., at 4–11). 

However, “eight Justices h[eld] th[e] case may proceed past

the motion to dismiss stage against” the licensing officials,

who had authority to enforce S. B. 8 for purposes of the motion to dismiss stage. Id., at ___ (slip op., at 17). 

The eight Justices who “agree[d]” on this point, id., at ___ 

(ROBERTS, C. J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part) (slip op., at 2), also made plain that the litigation must continue apace. Four wrote that “the District 

Court should resolve this litigation and enter appropriate

relief without delay.” Ibid. The other four stressed the “extraordinary solicitude” they had given the case. Id., at ___, 
Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2022) 3 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

n. 6 (opinion of the Court) (slip op., at 17, n. 6). And they 

emphasized that any dispute among the eight Justices 

“[wa]sn’t really about whether this case should proceed,” 

but “about which particular defendants the petitioners may 

sue.” Id., at ___, n. 5 (slip op., at 15, n. 5). Soon after, 

JUSTICE GORSUCH granted the petitioners’ application to issue the judgment forthwith, rather than waiting the standard 25 days.2 

After this Court issued its judgment, however, the litigation stalled. The Fifth Circuit should have immediately remanded this case to the District Court, allowing it to consider whether to issue preliminary relief. But Texas moved 

to certify to the Supreme Court of Texas the question this 

Court had just decided: whether state licensing officials had 

authority under state law to enforce S. B. 8. Texas never 

asked the Fifth Circuit to certify this question during its 

first pass through that court, nor did it ever ask this Court 

to do so. Even so, a Fifth Circuit panel indulged the request

by scheduling oral argument. Judge Higginson dissented 

from the court’s decision to do so, explaining that he “d[id] 

not read the Supreme Court’s judgment, especially in a case 

of this magnitude and acceleration, to countenance such delay.” Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, No. 21–50792 

(Dec. 27, 2021), p. 1.

On January 3, 2022, the petitioners requested a writ of

mandamus from this Court ordering the panel below to remand the case to the District Court. At argument before 

the Fifth Circuit four days later, one judge on the panel 

raised the notion that because this Court is considering a

challenge to Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973), the panel 

could “just sit on this until the end of June” rather than

fulfill its obligation to apply existing precedent. Recording 

—————— 2 The petitioners also asked the Court to remand the case directly to 

the District Court, skipping over the Court of Appeals, but they did not 

identify any previous case in which this Court had done so, nor any authority under which this Court could have done so. 
 

 

4 IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

of Oral Arg. in No. 21–50792 (CA5, Jan. 7, 2022), at 37:40–

38:17. 

Ten days after argument, before this Court had taken any

action on the mandamus petition, the panel granted Texas’ 

request for certification. See Whole Woman’s Health v. 

Jackson, 2022 WL 142193, *2, ___ F. 4th ___, ___ (CA5 

2022). The majority professed that “the issues before [it]

[we]re not about abortion,” and it deemed certification warranted primarily because the plurality and the solo dissent 

in Whole Woman’s Health II had expressed some uncertainty as to the best reading of state law. 2022 WL 142193, 

*1–*3. Judge Higginson dissented again. He emphasized

that the delay inherent in certification was inconsistent

with this Court’s mandate. Id., at *6. He added that the 

panel’s decision to certify “effectively t[old] the Court that

its opinion was advisory”; explained that Texas’ request 

was untimely; and concluded that the panel’s decision gave

Texas a second bite at a reading of state law that the Fifth 

Circuit had previously adopted, but this Court had rejected. 

Id., at *7. 

II 

The panel’s actions on remand clearly defy this Court’s

judgment for the reasons ably explained by Judge Higginson. This Court could, and should, have granted a writ

of mandamus ordering the panel below to withdraw certification and remand to the District Court. Mandamus relief 

is an “extraordinary remedy” appropriate for the “exceptional circumstances” now before this Court, where a lower 

court’s failure to follow this Court’s clear dictates has left 

petitioners with “no other adequate means” to enforce their

“clear and indisputable” rights. Cheney v. United States 

Dist. Court for D. C., 542 U. S. 367, 380–381 (2004) (internal quotation marks omitted).

After this Court resolved the appeal, there was no defen-
 

 

 

Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2022) 5 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

sible basis for the Fifth Circuit panel to delay the resumption of proceedings in the District Court. Of course, “Texas 

courts and not this one are the final arbiters of the meaning 

of state statutory directions.” Whole Woman’s Health II, 

595 U. S., at ___ (opinion of GORSUCH, J.) (slip op., at 13).

And, in appropriate cases and upon timely request, certification is a valuable tool. It was not appropriate or timely 

here. This Court had already “h[e]ld th[e] case may proceed 

past the motion to dismiss stage” against the licensing officials based on the arguments before it. Id., at ___ (slip op., 

at 17). Texas, meanwhile, never asked for certification of 

the question at any point before this Court decided it, despite being on notice from the moment suit was filed that

the scope of the licensing officials’ state-law duties would be 

at issue. Neither Texas nor the panel identify a single case 

in which a lower federal court has certified a question in

such a posture. Under the circumstances at hand, Texas’ 

belated request was a transparent effort to impede adjudication of the merits of the petitioners’ claims. By blessing

this tactic, the panel ignored this Court’s clear message 

that this case should proceed—and proceed expeditiously. 

Nevertheless, the Court now denies mandamus relief. 

This decision is especially troubling in view of the panel’s

misreading of Whole Woman’s Health II. As to the licensing

officials, the eight-Justice majority agreed: Suit could “proceed past the motion to dismiss stage” because, based on the 

arguments presented, the licensing officials had sufficient 

authority to enforce S. B. 8. Ibid.; see also id., at ___ (opinion of ROBERTS, C. J.) (slip op., at 2) (“agree[ing]” and citing

the state statute on which the principal opinion had relied).

Despite this express consensus, the panel incorrectly insisted that there was “no majority rationale.” 2022 WL 

142193, *3. Straying further still, the panel described itself 

as “bound” in part by the views of the lone dissent on this 
 

6 IN RE WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

point. Ibid.3 

This Court should not accept such an egregious distortion 

of its decision. I would grant the writ. 

III 

Contrary to the assertions of the panel below, this case is 

about abortion. As evidence, one need only note the judge 

below’s musings about sitting on the case until this Court 

decides the pending challenge to Roe. Indeed, the entire S. 

B. 8 scheme employs technical entanglements specifically 

to smother the federal right to choose. Because our precedents are clear that Texas cannot directly ban abortion before viability, the state legislature enacted a convoluted law 

that instills terror in those who assist women exercising

their rights between 6 and 24 weeks. State officials knew 

that the fear and confusion caused by this legal-procedural 

labyrinth would restrict citizens from accessing constitutionally protected medical care, providers from offering it,

and federal courts from restoring it. The dilatory tactics to

which this Court accedes today are consistent with, and 

part of, this scheme.

I dissented in Whole Woman’s Health II because the 

Court’s dismissal of the most important portions of the petitioners’ claims, beyond being unfaithful to our precedents,

left all manner of constitutional rights vulnerable to nullification. 595 U. S., at ___–___ (slip op., at 10–13). I explained that the Court had “clear[ed] the way for States to

reprise and perfect Texas’ scheme in the future” in order to

target this and other rights with impunity. Id., at ___ (slip 

—————— 3 The panel also emphasized that this Court issued its judgment to the 

Fifth Circuit rather than the District Court after Texas first disclosed its 

intent to seek certification. Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, 2022 WL 

142193, *2, ___ F. 4th ___, ___ (CA5 2022). As explained, however, the 

petitioners cited no authority under which this Court could remand directly to the District Court. Even if they had, a summary order from one

Justice would not give a lower court license to dismiss a holding of this

Court. 
Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2022) 7 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

op., at 12). I refrained, however, from criticizing the efficacy of any relief stemming from the limited slice of this

particular case that the Court allowed to proceed. I hoped

that even with the case narrowed, the District Court could 

enter some mitigating relief, though not the complete relief

to which I believed the petitioners were entitled. 

I was wrong. Today’s decision shows that any hope that 

Whole Woman’s Health II might protect the Constitution’s

guarantees in this case was illusory. As it turns out, Texas 

did not even have to amend its law to sidestep the minimal 

relief this Court left available. Instead, Texas wagered that 

this Court did not mean what little it said in Whole 

Woman’s Health II or, at least, that this Court would not 

stand behind those words, meager as they were. That bet 

has paid off. Despite this Court’s protestations over the “extraordinary solicitude” it gave this case and the narrowness

of any dispute, it accepts yet another dilatory tactic by

Texas. As a result, the District Court will remain powerless 

to address S. B. 8’s unconstitutional chill on abortion care, 

likely for months to come.

This case is a disaster for the rule of law and a grave disservice to women in Texas, who have a right to control their 

own bodies. I will not stand by silently as a State continues

to nullify this constitutional guarantee. I dissent.