Supreme Court Hears First Abortion Case in 5 Years
From the WaPo:
The Supreme Court today takes up its first abortion-related case in five years, testing not only the restrictive law in question but the tilt of a court undergoing its most extensive change in decades.
At issue during oral arguments set for 11 a.m. is a New Hampshire law requiring parental notification for underage women seeking abortions, with no exception made when the woman's health is at stake, unless she is certifiably confronting death.
Also at stake in the case of Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England et al is the broader issue of the power of the federal courts to declare abortion laws unconstitutional on their face, as opposed to waiting until a specific woman seeking the procedure works her way through the courts. That question is critical, because in abortion cases, the woman can only wait so long.
It's important to remember that the right to abortion is not the issue at this time. But it the opinions the justices right on this case will likely parallel their abortion stances.
The Supreme Court today takes up its first abortion-related case in five years, testing not only the restrictive law in question but the tilt of a court undergoing its most extensive change in decades.
At issue during oral arguments set for 11 a.m. is a New Hampshire law requiring parental notification for underage women seeking abortions, with no exception made when the woman's health is at stake, unless she is certifiably confronting death.
Also at stake in the case of Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England et al is the broader issue of the power of the federal courts to declare abortion laws unconstitutional on their face, as opposed to waiting until a specific woman seeking the procedure works her way through the courts. That question is critical, because in abortion cases, the woman can only wait so long.
It's important to remember that the right to abortion is not the issue at this time. But it the opinions the justices right on this case will likely parallel their abortion stances.