FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, 602 U.S. 367

In 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone (Mifeprex) for terminating early pregnancies, with specific restrictions.
FDA relaxed those restrictions in 2016 (expanded use to 10 weeks, fewer in-person visits, broader prescriber pool) and again in 2021 (eliminating initial in-person visit).
Several pro-life medical associations and doctors sued, seeking to overturn FDA’s 2016 and 2021 regulatory changes.
The district court sided with plaintiffs, blocking mifepristone’s approval; the Fifth Circuit limited relief but agreed on standing.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether plaintiffs had Article III standing to challenge FDA’s actions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing: Injury-in-Fact	Plaintiffs suffer conscience and economic injuries from relaxed FDA regulations	Plaintiffs are not directly regulated; no concrete or particularized injury	No standing; injuries are too speculative/attenuated
Conscience Protections	FDA’s changes may compel pro-life doctors to participate in abortions	Federal law protects doctors from being forced to perform or assist in abortions	Conscience laws break the causal chain; no standing
Organizational Standing	Medical groups claim injury by diverting resources to counter FDA’s actions	Resource expenditure alone, without direct injury, does not create standing	No standing; can’t spend way into federal court
Third-Party/Associational Standing	Doctors/associations may sue on behalf of patients/members	Plaintiffs must still show personal injury to themselves, not just members	No standing; doctrine not satisfied in these circumstances

Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (Article III standing requirements: injury, causation, redressability)
Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State, 454 U.S. 464 (Generalized grievances and standing)
Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 (Standing: personal stake and separation of powers)
Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Org., 426 U.S. 26 (Causation in standing for third-party government regulation)
Summers v. Earth Island Institute, 555 U.S. 488 (Concrete injury is required for standing)
TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U.S. 413 (Concrete and particularized injury necessary for standing)
Schlesinger v. Reservists Comm. to Stop the War, 418 U.S. 208 (No standing just because otherwise nobody could challenge)
Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (Abstract interest in problem insufficient for standing)