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The Supreme Court is poised to deliver a midyear jolt, with rulings expected by June on issues that cut along partisan lines. The decisions are sure to remind voters that one of the next president’s greatest powers will be federal judicial appointments. ... Whole Women’s Health v. Cole looks at the extent to which states can regulate and restrict abortion. The court continues to hold that women have a constitutional right to terminate pregnancy, and has struck down restrictions that it concludes impose a “substantial obstacle” to getting an abortion. The case looks at a 2013 Texas law requiring abortion doctors to hold admitting privileges at a local hospital and clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. (Bravin, 12/30)

The court will decide whether Texas can enforce two regulations that would force about three-fourths of the state’s abortion clinics to close. ... In the background is a larger question about the nature of abortion rights set out in the Roe vs. Wade decision: Is it a constitutional right that trumps state regulations that may interfere with a woman’s choice, or is it a limited right subject to restriction? The case of Whole Woman’s Health vs. Cole will be argued March 2. (Savage, 12/29)

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear its first abortion case in nearly a decade, both sides have been quietly gathering vivid personal accounts from women to supplement the dry legal arguments, believing the effort could appeal particularly to swing-vote Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Biskupic, 1/3)

The law the judge ruled on Thursday, which was approved by the state legislature in March, would require organizations or individuals dispensing mifepristone to maintain a contract relationship with a physician who has hospital admitting privileges. It also stipulates that the patient receive two more doses of the drug than the four presently required by law. Mifepristone is intended to induce miscarriage when taken in the first two months of pregnancy. (Barnes, 12/31)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday put an emergency hold on Utah's move to defund the state Planned Parenthood chapter. The decision by the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals allows federal money to temporarily keep flowing to the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah while the court considers whether to order a longer hold. (12/30)