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Chief Justice John Roberts is under the microscope as the Supreme Court prepares to issue its first major ruling on abortion rights in the Trump era, which will give the clearest indication yet of the court’s willingness to revisit protections that were first granted in Roe v. Wade. The tie-breaking vote may rest with Roberts, and the case stands to test his role as the court’s new ideological center as well as his allegiance to past rulings. (Kruzel, 6/21)

The Supreme Court will be announcing a decision in a major abortion case soon, and while it's centered on one state law, another question has come up in the case that could have massive consequences for the future of abortion laws in America. June Medical Services v. Russo is a challenge to a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers have admitting privileges with a nearby hospital, an agreement between a doctor and a hospital that allows a patient to go to that hospital if they need urgent care. However, last year, shortly before the Supreme Court agreed to take on the case, Louisiana brought another question to the table, on the issue of third-party standing. (Svokos, 6/21)

When Louisiana native Kim O'Brien decided to have an abortion in 2011 because her pregnancy had severe complications, she was unaware of the difficulties she would face -- including traveling to another state -- to get the care she is legally entitled to through Roe v. Wade. Now, nine years later, O'Brien, 43, is part of an abortion case before the U.S. Supreme Court that has the potential to dramatically change the landscape of abortion access across the United States, particularly in Louisiana, where the case originates. (Kindelan, 6/21)

The Trump administration Friday moved forward with a rule that rolls back health care protections for transgender people, even as the Supreme Court barred sex discrimination against LGBT individuals on the job. The rule from the Department of Health and Human Services was published in the Federal Register, the official record of the executive branch, with an effective date of Aug. 18. That will set off a barrage of lawsuits from gay rights and women’s groups. It also signals to religious and social conservatives in President Donald Trump’s political base that the administration remains committed to their causes as the president pursues his reelection. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/19)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS, Trump Collide Over Transgender Rights

Transgender people have had a head-spinning week. First, the Trump administration issued long-promised rules rolling back the Obama administration’s protections against discrimination in health care. But just three days later, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling authored by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, said that gay and transgender people are protected by the nation’s core employment anti-discrimination law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. (6/18)