Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a34_3f14.pdf
Page Number: 5

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

3 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

healthcare providers and patients to take advantage of tel-
emedicine.  For example, the CDC has advised medical pro-
viders to use telemedicine “whenever possible” because it is 
“the  best  way  to  protect  patients  and  staff  from  COVID–
19.”4    The  CDC  has  likewise  informed  patients  that  they 
should use telemedicine “[t]o reduce the risk of COVID–19 
and  keep  you  and  your  family  healthy.”5    As  mentioned 
above, the FDA and HHS have waived many in-person drug 
distribution requirements because they could “put patients 
and  others  at  risk  for  transmission  of  the  coronavirus.”6   
For  instance,  the  FDA  no  longer  requires  patients  to 
undergo  in-person  procedures,  such  as  laboratory  tests  or 
MRIs,  before  being  prescribed  certain  drugs.    Similarly, 
HHS  now  permits  physicians  to  use  telemedicine,  rather 
than in-person evaluations, before prescribing certain con-
trolled substances, including opioids. 
  The  Government  has  thus  recognized  that  in-person 
healthcare during the COVID–19 pandemic poses a signifi-
cant  risk  to  patients’  health,  and  it  has  acted  to  help  pa-
tients “ ‘ access healthcare they need from their home, with-
out  worrying  about  putting  themselves  or  others  at  risk 
during  the  COVID–19  outbreak.’ ”7    Yet  the  Government 
has  refused  to  extend  that  same  grace  to  women  seeking 

—————— 

4 See  CDC,  Prepare  Your  Practice  for  COVID–19  (updated  June  12, 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/preparedness- 

2020), 
resources.html. 

5 See  CDC,  Telemedicine:  What  Does  It  Mean  and  Why  Should  You 
Care?  (updated  Sept.  15,  2020),  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/downloads/global-covid-19/Telemedicine-Factsheet-MIT.pdf. 

6 FDA,  Policy 

for  Certain  REMS  Requirements  During 

the 
COVID–19 Public Health Emergency: Guidance for Industry and Health 
Care  Professionals  7  (Mar.  2020),  https://www.fda.gov/media/136317/ 
download. 

7 Dept. of Health & Human Servs., Secretary Azar Announces Historic 
Expansion of Telehealth Access To Combat COVID–19 (Mar. 17, 2020), 
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/03/17/secretary - azar - an-
nounces - historic - expansion - of - telehealth- access - to- combat-covid-19.html.