Supreme Court Impacts in Public Health Law: 2025–2026

Abstract

In an increasingly contemptuous political environment as the nation prepared to celebrate its semisquicentennial on July 4, 2026, the US Supreme Court capped its 2025–2026 term, which included profound decisions on a series of cases raising significant controversies in health law and policy. As per Figure 1 and analyses below, major topics addressed by the Court this term include: (1) the scope and limits of presidential emergency authorities; (2) state debates over LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination in parental and sports-related settings; (3) First Amendment interests juxtaposed against states’ rights to regulate medical professionals or require vaccinations; (4) expansion of Second Amendment rights to possess firearms; and (5) state-based product liability and other claims foreclosed via Congress.