US Supreme Court sides with Bayer over Roundup cancer suits

June 25, 2026

Bayer, which acquired Roundup in 2018, said the decision is good for science and farmers. The Supreme Court's ruling was met with backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.

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A lawyer for a California groundskeeper dying of cancer took aim at Monsanto on July 9, 2019 as a jury began hearing the lawsuit accusing the chemical giant of ignoring health risks of its top-selling weed killer Roundup. — Roundup is commonly found in US households for controlling weeds, but Bayer has phased out its key ingredient glyphosate (FILE: July 9, 2019)Image: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled to rein in lawsuits alleging that Germany-based agrochemical manufacturer Bayer failed to warn users of the cancer risks posed by the company's Roundup weedkiller.

What are the details of the Supreme Court ruling on Roundup?

The conservative-majority US top court, in a 7-2 decision, overturned a verdict in Missouri which awarded $1.25 million (€1.1 million) to a man named John Durnell.

Durnell had argued that years of Roundup weedkiller use had caused his blood cancer diagnosis.

Durnell's case referred to the International Agency for Research on Cancer's classification that glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup, is a probably human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer is a part of World Health Organization of the United Nations.

However, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not classify glyphosate as a carcinogen and has approved the sale of Roundup without a warning label.

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Bottom row, from left, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — Most of the justices on the US Supreme Court backed the decision except for Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson (FILE: October 7, 2022)Image: J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo/picture alliance

US Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative who was appointed by US President Donald Trump, said Durnell's argument would "require Monsanto to add a cancer warning to Roundup's label even though federal law requires Monsanto to use the EPA-approved label without a cancer warning."

Ketanji Brown Jackson, a left-leaning justice appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, characterized the ruling as "remarkable and regrettable, for it unjustifiably closes the courthouse doors to state torts plaintiffs like Durnell."

Neil Gorsuch, a conservative justice appointed by Trump, had joined Jackson in the dissent.

Bayer hails ruling as good for science, farmers and industry

Monsanto originally manufactured Roundup, with Bayer acquiring Monsanto in 2018.

Bayer hailed the ruling in a statement saying that it "is good for science, farmers and industries that depend on regulatory clarity for innovation."

"It should help significantly contain the Roundup litigation after nearly a decade of legal battles," the company added.

A photo of Leverkusen, where Bayer is located, at night — Bayer is headquartered in the western German city of Leverkusen Image: Christoph Hardt/Panama Pictures/picture alliance

Bayer's shares spiked after the US Supreme Court ruling.

Trump administration has backed Bayer in its legal battle; Trump also signed an executive order boosting glyphosate production in the US. That executive order has been met with criticism from Make America Healthy Again movement which is allied with the Trump White House.

Supreme Court decision met with bipartisan blowback

Members of Trump's Republican Party and the opposition Democrats criticized the ruling.

"The Supreme Court just ruled to protect Roundup," US Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina wrote on X.

"The health of the American people should come before the profits of corporate giants. Every single time. Americans have a right to know what they've been exposed to."

Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said it "is a devastating blow in our fight to hold big pesticide companies accountable for the harm caused by their toxic chemicals."

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

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