WASHINGTON _ California was one of the first states in the country to legalize abortion, and its expansive laws on reproductive rights mean that it will still be legal to terminate a pregnancy in the state, even if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Some believe that landmark 1973 decision, which struck down state abortion bans, is in jeopardy if D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court later this year. President Donald Trump nominated him to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who acted as a swing vote on some reproductive rights cases. And Trump repeatedly promised during the 2016 campaign that Roe would be overturned if he got the chance to reshape the court.
Legal scholars and those on both sides of the reproductive debate suggest, however, that there are other ways a more conservative Supreme Court would restrict abortion laws in the country _ even in California.
