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Facing off before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, in what could be the most momentous abortion case in a quarter-century, will be two lawyers who are still in their thirties and are described by colleagues as whip-smart masters of the law and unflappable under pressure. Arguing in defense of Texas’ sharp restrictions on abortion clinics will be Scott Keller, 34, the state solicitor general. He spent his childhood in rural Wisconsin, clerked for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in the Supreme Court and was legal counsel in the Senate to Ted Cruz, whom Mr. Keller calls a mentor. Speaking on behalf of Texas abortion providers, who are challenging laws that may force many clinics to close, will be Stephanie Toti, 37, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York. Born in Brooklyn to an Italian-American family, she said her devotion to women’s rights was influenced by her grandmother, whose immigrant parents pulled her from school after the eighth grade because they feared that education would make her unmarriageable. (Eckholm, 2/29)

The Supreme Court will hear its most important abortion case in decades on Wednesday — and the outcome may depend on one justice’s perception of just how much the procedures put women at risk. (Thielking, 3/1)

The Supreme Court this week will hear arguments on whether Texas can limit abortions to surgical centers and to doctors affiliated with nearby hospitals — potentially reshaping the national landscape on abortion during a presidential election year. Eight justices will hear oral arguments Wednesday in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the most significant abortion case to come before the court since 1992, and among the most significant constitutional tests since the court upheld abortion rights in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. (Haberkorn, 2/29)

On Wednesday, a suddenly short-staffed Supreme Court will hear the most significant challenge in a generation to the ever-rising number of state abortion restrictions. Clinics in Texas, a dwindling breed under the 2013 law, are fighting requirements that doctors must have admitting privileges at local hospitals and clinics must meet the same operating standards as surgical centers. Texas legislators and the nation's leading abortion opponents say those rules are necessary to protect women's health, even if they result in leaving just 10 clinics in a state with 5.4 million women of reproductive age. The nation's leading abortion rights groups and major medical associations say the rules don't serve public health but represent a roadblock for women seeking abortions — the very type of burden the high court's landmark 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey was intended to prohibit. (Wolf, 2/29)

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its most significant abortion-related case in nearly a decade on Wednesday. With eyes focused on Washington, it is worth exploring how other countries have dealt with the issue. In 2013, the United Nations published an extensive report on abortion policies all over the world. Although some details may have changed since then, the data provides striking insights that are worth considering amid the heated U.S. debate. (Cameron and Noack, 3/1)