Supreme Court Strikes Down Long-Standing Precedent Protecting Americans' Health and Safety in Giveway to Corporate Billionaires
Today, the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine, a decades-old legal precedent that ensured judges deferred to scientists and experts at federal agencies when interpreting laws with broad or unclear language. The Court’s ruling in Relentless, Inc. v. Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo gives unelected, partisan judges the power to overrule public servants working to protect the American people from polluted water and air, unsafe food and medication, health care abuses, hazardous and exploitative working conditions, and more.
Stand Up America’s Executive Director, Christina Harvey, issued the following statement on today’s decisions:
“Make no mistake–more people will get sick, injured, or die as a result of today’s decision. Some ramifications of this decision won’t be felt for decades, but they will be felt.
“I grew up in the small town of Nitro, West Virginia, a town that's air, water, and soil were polluted by the numerous chemical companies operating there. For decades, they polluted our town with dioxin and dangerous pesticides. And for decades, people got sick, many with cancer. Ironically, Justice Clarence Thomas worked as a lawyer for one of those companies up until the year I was born.
“Years later, I got cancer too. It was a type of cancer that is uncommon for my sex, race, age and health status, but is more prevalent in people who have been exposed to the chemicals that polluted my town. I am mostly healed and healthy now, but the prospect of this decision has been haunting me for months.
“Today's decision leaves the door open for unqualified judges to undermine government experts trying to prevent tragedies like the one in Nitro, West Virginia. It will mean more diagnoses like mine, especially for poor and working-class Americans and people of color.
“The impact of these extreme rulings is personal for millions of Americans, and we’re not taking them sitting down. The Supreme Court will be on that ballot this year. That’s why I’m taking Stand Up America’s pledge to be a Supreme Court Voter, and I hope millions of Americans will join me.”
On Monday, the second anniversary of the controversial Dobbs v. Jackson decision, Stand Up America launched a seven-figure Supreme Court Voter campaign aimed at educating and mobilizing voters on the impact the next president will have on the future of the U.S. Supreme Court. With four of the nine current justices set to be in their 70s by 2025, the next president may have the opportunity to appoint their replacements, potentially reshaping the Court for generations to come.