A Call for Prayers

Abortion and Business at Top of Supreme Court's Docket

When the court does convene, one case it will face this year is of importance to many religious Americans. The court will decide whether the law known as the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2003 is constitutional.

The court is being asked to determine if the law is acceptable even though it does not contain a health exception for the would-be mother. The decision will most likely be divided, and a key justice affecting the outcome will be Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his 19th year on the court, who has taken over the role of swing voter since Sandra Day O'Connor retired last year.

While the court already looked at the health exception in 2000 when it struck down a Nebraska law, the federal law, which was written differently than the state bill, may be treated differently by the court. Kennedy supported the Nebraska law in 2000, writing the minority dissent.

"There are certainly enough votes to flip the issue if Justice Kennedy continues to take the same position," said Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett.