WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - The US Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing oral arguments in the first major case involving abortion since a landmark decision in 1992. The current case involves a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortions and could affect laws in 30 states as well as bans pending in state legislatures and the US Congress.

    Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg told the court the law is intended to draw "a bright line between abortion and infanticide." But lawyers representing the Nebraska abortionist challenging the law said it is "so broadly written it could prohibit most second-trimester abortions" and could lead to making all abortions "more dangerous for women."

    Justices David Souter and John Paul Stevens, who upheld the constitutionality of abortion in the 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey decision, also doubted the constitutionality of the Nebraska ban, as did Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer who joined the court after 1992. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas seemed to lean toward upholding the ban, mirroring their dissent from the majority opinion in 1992.

    Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy appeared to be the swing votes, although they also voiced concerns about the breadth of the Nebraska law. The court's decision is expected by late June.