Justices tackle late-term abortion issue
By Bill Mears
CNN
Tuesday, February 21, 2006; Posted: 1:18 p.m. EST (18:18 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court wasted little time jumping back into the contentious abortion issue, agreeing Tuesday to review the constitutionality of a federal law banning a controversial late-term procedure critics call "partial birth" abortion.
The case could provide a judicial sea change with new Justice Samuel Alito, who joined the high court January 31, replacing Sandra Day O'Connor.
O'Connor, the first woman on the high court, was a key swing vote for a quarter century, upholding the basic right to abortion.
The views of Alito, a more conservative jurist, could prove crucial in the new debate.
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/21/scotus.latetermabortion/index.html