Roberts, Alito Signal Potential Shift In Supreme Court Ideology During Recent Cases On Abortion Rights, Other Issues, USA Today Reports

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, who both were appointed to the court by President Bush, during oral arguments in recent cases involving abortion rights and other issues have "signaled a readiness" to make the court more conservative, USA Today reports. The justices during the cases were "aggressive and sometimes feisty proponents" of conservative views and "particularly sympathetic" to Bush administration arguments, according to USA Today. Roberts last month during arguments in a Department of Justice appeal to uphold a federal law (S 3) banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion suggested by his questions that he is inclined to uphold the law. Roberts challenged lawyers seeking to overturn the law -- called the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act -- who said the procedures banned under the measure are safer than other abortion procedures. Alito did not ask questions during the hearing on the law. According to USA Today, the justices' style "sharply" contrasts with the "tentative and moderate" approach taken by Justice Anthony Kennedy and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whom Alito replaced. Kennedy during the hearing on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act asked how the law would affect women's health (Biskupic, USA Today, 12/20).

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