Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a34_3f14.pdf
Page Number: 1

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2021) 

1 

ROBERTS, C. J., concurring 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 20A34 
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FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, ET AL. v. 
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS 
AND GYNECOLOGISTS, ET AL. 

ON APPLICATION FOR STAY 

[January 12, 2021] 

  The application for stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE 
and by him referred to the Court is granted, and the district 
court’s July 13, 2020 order granting a preliminary injunc-
tion  is  stayed  pending  disposition  of  the  appeal  in  the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and 
disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ 
is timely sought. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari 
be  denied,  this  stay  shall  terminate  automatically.  In  the 
event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the stay 
shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of 
this Court. 
  JUSTICE BREYER would deny the application. 
  CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS,  concurring  in  the  grant  of  ap-
plication for stay. 
  The question before us is not whether the requirements 
for dispensing mifepristone impose an undue burden on a 
woman’s  right  to  an  abortion  as  a  general  matter.    The 
question is instead whether the District Court properly or-
dered the Food and Drug Administration to lift those estab-
lished requirements because of the court’s own evaluation 
of  the  impact  of the  COVID–19  pandemic.  Here  as  in re-
lated contexts concerning government responses to the pan-
demic, my view is that courts owe significant deference to 
the  politically  accountable  entities  with  the  “background,