Kentucky lawmakers have overridden Democratic Governor Andy Beshear's veto to enact a law that could protect Bayer from state lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The Republican-led General Assembly's move on Wednesday comes ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on a case that could provide nationwide legal protection for the company.
The law declares that federally approved pesticide labels are sufficient to satisfy any duty under state law to warn customers. Kentucky joins North Dakota and Georgia in passing such legislation, part of a broader effort by Bayer and the Modern Ag Alliance to block failure-to-warn claims. Bayer faces about 200,000 lawsuits alleging glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Governor Beshear, a former state attorney general, criticised the measure, saying it 'would allow dangerous pesticides to be sold without having labels warning of the risks of using them.' He noted that other products like cosmetics and household cleaners carry warnings, adding that the law 'flies in the face of making America healthy.'
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on 27 April in a Missouri case where a jury awarded $1.25 million to a man who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup. Bayer argues federal pesticide laws preempt state failure-to-warn claims, a position supported by the Trump administration, reversing the Biden administration's stance.
Bayer disputes the cancer link, but legal costs threaten its ability to sell glyphosate-based products in US agricultural markets. The company has already removed glyphosate from new residential Roundup versions. The US Environmental Protection Agency maintains glyphosate is not likely carcinogenic when used as directed.
