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Page Number: 26

22 

FDA v. ALLIANCE FOR HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE 

Opinion of the Court 

that 

The  medical  associations 

associations  therefore  cannot  assert  standing  simply
because they object to FDA’s actions. 
say 

they  have 
demonstrated  something  more  here.    They  claim  to  have
standing not based on their mere disagreement with FDA’s 
policies, but based on their incurring costs to oppose FDA’s 
actions.  They say that FDA has “caused” the associations 
to  conduct  their  own  studies  on  mifepristone  so  that  the 
associations  can  better  inform  their  members  and  the 
public about mifepristone’s risks.  Brief for Respondents 43. 
They  contend  that  FDA  has  “forced”  the  associations  to 
“expend considerable time, energy, and resources” drafting
citizen  petitions  to  FDA,  as  well  as  engaging  in  public 
advocacy and public education.  Id., at 44 (quotation marks
omitted).  And  all  of  that  has  caused  the  associations  to 
spend  “considerable  resources”  to  the  detriment  of  other 
spending priorities.  Ibid. 

But  an  organization  that  has  not  suffered  a  concrete 
injury caused by a defendant’s action cannot spend its way 
into  standing  simply  by  expending  money  to  gather
information  and  advocate  against  the  defendant’s  action. 
An  organization  cannot  manufacture  its  own  standing  in
that way.

The  medical  associations  respond  that  under  Havens 
Realty  Corp.  v.  Coleman,  standing  exists  when  an 
organization  diverts  its  resources  in  response  to  a 
defendant’s  actions.  455  U. S.  363.    That  is  incorrect. 
Indeed, that theory would mean that all the organizations 
in America would have standing to challenge almost every 
federal policy that they dislike, provided they spend a single 
dollar  opposing  those  policies.  Havens  does  not  support
such an expansive theory of standing. 

The relevant question in Havens was whether a housing
counseling  organization,  HOME,  had  standing  to  bring  a
claim under the Fair Housing Act against Havens Realty,
which  owned  and  operated  apartment  complexes.  Id.,  at