Supreme Court Deals MAHA a Loss on Pesticides

The court ruled that federal law protects Monsanto from lawsuits by people claiming Roundup caused their cancer.

SCOTUS MAHA Glyphosate

MAHA-aligned protesters decry the use of Roundup weed and grass killer at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that federal law protects Monsanto from tens of thousands of lawsuits from people claiming the weed killer Roundup caused their cancer.

The 7-2 decision effectively ends a legal pathway for people who say they were harmed by products that the federal government declined to adequately regulate.

The decision is a loss for the Make America Healthy Again Movement, which sees glyphosate — the widely used herbicide in Roundup — as the poster child for dangerous chemicals in the food system and has long fought to end the chemical’s widespread use and hold its makers accountable.