FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996
June 28, 2024
Doctors for America’s FDA Task Force Condemns Supreme Court Decision to Overrule Chevron Deference
Washington, D.C.: Doctors for America’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Task Force is disheartened by today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the longstanding Chevron deference for federal agencies. The court’s decision to abolish Chevron not only reverses 40 years of precedent but will also have profound adverse effects on the government’s ability to keep its citizens safe and healthy.
For decades, Chevron deference has provided a clear and consistent framework, allowing agencies like the FDA with scientific, clinical, and technical expertise to interpret ambiguous statutes to issue regulations intended to protect public health. This doctrine has ensured that complex and nuanced regulatory decisions, such as approvals of drugs, devices, and other medical products, are made by those best equipped with the scientific knowledge and experience to do so. Moreover, as Justice Kagan astutely writes in her dissent, “Congress knows that it does not–in fact cannot–write perfectly complete regulatory statutes. It knows that those statutes will inevitably contain ambiguities that some other actor will have to resolve, and gaps that some other actor will have to fill. And it would usually prefer that actor to be the responsible agency, not a court.”
The FDA relies on the broad judicial deference granted by Chevron to utilize scientific and clinical expertise to protect the health and safety of the public. By eliminating the Chevron deference, the Supreme Court is undermining the FDA’s ability to effectively carry out its mission and respond to evolving public health challenges. Overturning Chevron may instead deter the FDA from issuing regulations, forcing the agency to prioritize the legal landscape over public health or science. This decision risks creating regulatory uncertainty and instability, and may ultimately endanger patients, as courts now have greater authority in interpreting ambiguous laws than FDA scientists and experts.
“Today’s ruling in the cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo and Relentless, Inc v Department of Commerce is concerning for the future of public health regulation. The Court has decided to overturn decades’ worth of precedent that understood that Congress had created federal agencies to use their specialized expertise to issue regulations intended to protect the public. By having courts seize the reins in being the ultimate arbiters of administrative authority, the Supreme Court has only further politicized regulatory processes that should be grounded in science and expertise. The ruling poses significant risks to FDA’s special competence to interpret statutes to enable timely patient access to truly safe and effective medical products and provide reassurance to physicians.” – Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, FDA Task Force Chair
Today’s ruling overturning Chevron deference will have a devastating impact on FDA programs that work to advance life-saving medical products. Regulations that have advanced medicine and public health, reduce disparities in health care access, and allowed for deliberate and informed responses to public health crises are all now at risk of judicial interference.
For press inquiries for leaders of Doctors for America or with physician members willing to speak on this issue, please contact Alli Everton with Continuum Health Group ([email protected]).
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. We are 27,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies; which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on X at @drsforamerica.