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The Supreme Court upped the ante in the filibuster fight today when it decided to take on Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, and rule on the legality of a New Hampshire parental consent law. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the law saying that it did not provide a health exception for the mother.

New Hampshire officials argued that other state provisions requiring a health exception also cover the parental notification law. The state asked the Supreme Court "to clarify the legal standard that is applied when reviewing the constitutionality of abortion laws," says the Associated Press. Pro-life groups complain that the health exception effectively nullifies any abortion restriction because any pregnancy can be seen as a health threat. However, restrictions passed without the exception have been overturned even before going into effect when courts rule that such laws place an "undue burden" on mothers.

In Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood the Supreme Court could place a more stringent standard on courts overturning the law before it goes into effect. "The attorney general of New Hampshire argued that a law such as New Hampshire's must be upheld unless a challenger meets the difficult burden of showing that 'no set of circumstances exists' under which it would be constitutional," according to The Washington Post. "Abortion-rights advocates believe that few, if any, challenges could survive such a test, which, in any case, has been rejected by most appeals courts."

"The decision to review the emotional case, which also comes at a time of bitterly partisan fighting in the Senate over President Bush's nominees for federal judgeships, will be heard in the next term beginning in October," the Associated Press says. Some have speculated that Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has cancer, will have retired from the bench by then. "Liberal groups have vowed to fight any Rehnquist replacement who opposes the high court's landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion," according to the AP.

The decision could also affect the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which passed the House this month. "This is a critical area of the law that needs to be corrected," Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told Reuters. "We are hopeful the high court will determine that parental notification laws enacted by states are proper and constitutional."

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Bush speaks at Calvin graduation:

• Not all follow Bush Gospel at Christian school | His address to Michigan graduates draws cheers, but some highlight the diversity of views. (Los Angeles Times)
• Bush praises faith-based activism | President Bush yesterday delivered a commencement address at the Christian-focused Calvin College, telling more than 800 graduating seniors that faith-based community activists have been "at the front of every great movement in American history." (Washington Times)
• Bush has tips for Grand Rapids grads | The president's commencement visit gets mixed response at Calvin College. (Detroit News)
• Bush visit stirs controversy at graduation | President Bush delivered the commencement address at Calvin College Saturday, whisking in from the Gerald R. Ford Airport long enough to bow his head in prayer, sing a hymn, shake some hands and deliver a 14-minute speech that touched on the school's Dutch heritage and the importance of community involvement. (Herald News, New Jersey)
• The Calvin connection | Calvin College, its seminary and the surrounding community form the hub of the Christian Reformed Church, an evangelical branch of Protestantism founded in 1857 by Dutch immigrants. The church, which thrived in Dutch enclaves such as Prospect Park, now has about 250,000 members in the United States and Canada. (Herald News, New Jersey)

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May (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49