Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a34_3f14.pdf
Page Number: 4.0

2 

FDA v. AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND 
GYNECOLOGISTS 
SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

for  several  other  drugs,  including  certain  controlled  sub-
stances, but not for mifepristone.  As a result, Government 
policy  now  permits  patients  to  receive  prescriptions  for 
powerful  opioids  without  leaving  home,  yet  still  requires 
women to travel to a doctor’s office to pick up mifepristone, 
only to turn around, go home, and ingest it without super-
vision. 
  In July, a District Court enjoined the FDA’s in-person dis-
pensing  and  signature  requirements  for  mifepristone  for 
the duration of the COVID–19 pandemic.  Today, the Court 
grants extraordinary relief to reinstate them.  Because the 
FDA’s  policy  imposes  an  unnecessary,  unjustifiable,  irra-
tional,  and  undue  burden  on  women  seeking  an  abortion 
during the current pandemic, and because the Government 
has  not  demonstrated  irreparable  harm  from  the  injunc-
tion, I dissent. 

I 
A 
  As of early January, the United States has endured over 
20  million  reported  COVID–19  cases  and  over  350,000 
deaths from the disease.2  COVID–19 spreads easily from 
person to person and many individuals infected by COVID–
19 display no symptoms.  The Centers for Disease Control 
and  Prevention  (CDC)  have  therefore  advised  people  to 
avoid close contact with others, especially in indoor spaces, 
to the greatest extent possible.3  The COVID–19 pandemic 
has  thus  made  many  typical  activities  more  difficult  and 
dangerous.  A trip to the doctor’s office is no exception. 
  As  a  result,  the  Federal  Government  has  urged 

—————— 

2 See CDC, United States COVID–19 Cases and Deaths by State (up-
dated  Jan.  6,  2021),  https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_ 
casesper100k. 

3 See CDC, Things To Know About the COVID–19 Pandemic (updated 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-

2020), 

31, 

Dec. 
health/need-to-know.html.