US Supreme Court to hear challenge on abortion rights
The US Supreme Court will hear a case that could undermine the national legal status of abortion. Christian conservatives hope the new make-up of the court will gut previous bans on anti-abortion laws.
The hearing could overturn 50 years of rulings on abortion
The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case on a second-trimester abortion ban in the state of Mississippi.
The proposed law would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy in the southern state. There would be exceptions for medical emergencies and cases of severe fetal abnormalities.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to overturn a central part of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the country. That ruling forbade laws banning abortions conducted on fetuses unable to survive outside the womb — generally before between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.