Supreme Court to hear landmark abortion case

Forty-eight years ago, the nation’s highest court barred the government from protecting babies from abortion if they were too young to survive outside the womb. On Monday, the justices agreed to revisit that decision by reviewing a Mississippi law that would replace the “viability standard” with a limit on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The rule allows exceptions for severe fetal abnormalities and medical emergencies.

Does the case stand a chance? With the addition of Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh during the Trump administration, the Supreme Court may have a solid pro-life majority. Pro-life advocates hailed the case as an opportunity to allow hundreds of proposed state laws protecting babies to take effect. Oral arguments in the case will likely happen when the court convenes for its next term in the fall.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Hickman’s report in Vitals about state legislatures’ monumental efforts to protect babies.