The New York Times’ Adam Liptak explains today the upcoming Supreme Court case of Wyeth v. Levine. Diana Levine had her right arm amputated after using a nausea drug from the pharmaceutical company Wyeth. The drug horrifically gave her gangrene and Levine sued. But Wyeth has a big backer in the Bush administration. The White House argues for the "preemption principle": that the fact the Food and Drug Administration approved the Wyeth drug preempts states from making additional regulatory rules and also consumers from suing in state court.

The Wyeth ruling will signal just how expansive the role of the FDA and other federal regulators are in ensuring consumer safety. Regardless of the legal issues involved, its disconcerting that the Bush administration has put so much faith in the regulatory policies of FDA– which it has continually short-changed in annual budgets.-MB

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