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Washington, D.C. – On June 25, 2026, The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, issued a ruling that prohibits, under current federal law, the right of those harmed by pesticides to sue manufacturers for their failure to warn of potential hazards on their product labels. Today’s decision on Monsanto vs. Durnell effectively shields manufacturers from failure to warn lawsuits protecting manufacturers from liability associated with those who are harmed but not warned about pesticides’ adverse effects like cancer, neurological or immunological conditions, reproductive dysfunction, and other chronic illnesses. The decision threatens to extinguish thousands of pending lawsuits and to block countless future cases by people who might have developed cancer and other serious illnesses after being exposed to pesticides.
In response to the announcement of today’s decision, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments Executive Director Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN issued the following statement:
“For those suffering from cancer, Parkinson’s and other illnesses, today’s decision confirms that there is now no legal recourse to sue manufacturers like Monsanto for the harms caused by their products. The science on the health harms of glyphosate is well known and this ruling creates a dangerous precedent that could extend far beyond pesticides.
As nurses, we have been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with over 200 grassroots, health, farm, farmworker, environmental, and consumer groups, socially responsible corporations and hundreds of citizens against chemical company secrecy over pesticide hazards. We will continue to stand with the science and defend health protections, continuing to fight against this ruling.”
Peer-reviewed scientific evidence links widely used pesticides to a host of health harms, including cancers, birth defects, endocrine disruption, Parkinson’s disease, and infertility. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. and the world, detected in the food supply and in the bodies of most Americans. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified it as a probable human carcinogen. President Donald Trump doubled down on his support for pesticide makers by signing an executive order in February to boost the production of glyphosate.
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Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) is the leading global nursing organization focused on the intersection of human and planetary health. ANHE champions nurses as critical to promoting and protecting human health from environmental harm associated with degradation and disruption of Earth’s natural systems, especially for populations that are disproportionately exposed and overburdened. ANHE leads in engaging, educating, and mobilizing nurses in support of environmental health equity and justice.
