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 If the nine-justice court takes up either case, it would give the
conservative majority an opportunity to chip away at the landmark
1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that found women have a constitutional right
to terminate pregnancies.
The court is due to announce new cases it is hearing and appeals it
is rejecting on Monday morning. It could also delay action on
certain cases.
One of the Indiana laws requires fetal remains to be buried or
cremated and bans abortions performed because of fetal disability or
the sex or race of the fetus.
The other law requires women to undergo an ultrasound examination at
least 18 hours before they undergo an abortion.
Both Indiana measures were signed into law in 2016 by Vice President
Mike Pence when he was Indiana's governor and were struck down by
federal judges the following year. The state of Indiana is appealing
to the Supreme Court.
The Alabama law was signed by the governor last week but is not set
to go into effect for six months. It would outlaw almost all
abortions, including in cases of pregnancies resulting from rape or
incest. Exceptions would only be allowed to protect the mother's
health. Doctors who perform abortions could face up to 99 years in
prison.
The Alabama law was written with the assumption that it would face
legal challenges and could ultimately end up at the high court.
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Conservative activists have long railed against the Roe v. Wade
decision. They hope that the conservative Supreme Court justices,
who hold a 5-4 majority, will undermine, if not overturn it
altogether.
Their chances of success were given a boost last year by the
retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote at the Supreme
Court who had previously backed abortion rights in two key cases.
Kennedy was replaced by President Donald Trump's conservative
appointee Brett Kavanaugh, who has a thin record on abortion.
Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced this
year in 16 states. Four governors have signed bills banning abortion
if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected.
Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts, who has voted against
abortion rights in previous cases, are seen by legal experts as the
key votes to watch.
The high court has two other abortion cases on its docket that it
will also act on in the coming months - attempts by Alabama and
Louisiana to revive other previously blocked abortion restrictions.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Bill
Berkrot)
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