Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1973's Roe v. Wade that states could not simply ban all abortions, pro-life forces have hoped that some day the court would overturn that decision.
And now they have their best shot.
In May, the court agreed to hear a Mississippi case about whether a law preventing pregnant women from getting an abortion after 15 weeks is too restrictive.
The state argued its law complied with the Roe v. Wade decision. But last week Mississippi decided to take a different tack.
A brief filed by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch gets straight to the heart of the pro-life argument, asking the court to overturn Roe v. Wade entirely because "the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion or limit States' authority to restrict it."
And that's true. The court's ruling in Roe v. Wade was based on the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process and an implicit "right to privacy" the court found in the 14th and 9th amendments.
But the justices also ruled the right to privacy was not absolute, allowing some abortion restrictions by the states.
So for decades abortion foes have tried to work around Roe v. Wade. Now Mississippi is making a direct attack.
The court has options. It could strike down Mississippi's 15-week restriction. It could uphold the law and still leave Roe v. Wade in place. Or, considering the current conservative makeup of the court, it could kick precedent to the curb and overturn Roe v. Wade.
Should that last happen, legal abortion would disappear from about half the states, including the entire South.
It's the best shot the pro-life crowd has had in a long time. But given the court usually rules as narrowly as possible, we doubt even the conservative majority will completely jettison Roe v. Wade Still, we'll have to wait until next summer when a ruling is expected to know for sure.