Hoping to limit the Court's 1973 abortion ruling, the Chief Justice voted with the majority so that he could choose who would write the opinion.

The Supreme Court's controversial 1973 abortion ruling, for example, allows states to prohibit abortions altogether in the last trimester of pregnancy.

The tense crowd wilted a few minutes after 10 o'clock as word filtered through that there would be no abortion ruling today.

The Court's last major abortion ruling, 5 to 4, came in 1986.

Justice Hankinson was on the other side of the abortion rulings about parental notification.

As with an abortion ruling last month, this decision showed the impact of Justice Alito's presence on the court.

Senator Biden tried again with little success to have Judge Souter reveal his personal philosophy about the issues of privacy that underly the abortion ruling.

Nevertheless, the most recent Supreme Court abortion ruling came down to a 5-to-4 vote.

Even a full year before Election Day, Presidential politics generated more talk than the abortion ruling.

The Court's last major abortion ruling, in 1986, was decided by a 5-to-4 majority.