APPEALS COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS ON PENNSYLVANIA ABORTION LAW

Pennsylvania's abortion law, one of the most restrictive in the nation, took another step toward the Supreme Court Monday, with arguments before a federal appeals court. The state is appealing a lower court decision last August that overturned provisions of the law requiring a 24-hour waiting period and parental consent or spousal notification prior to the operation.

Pro-choice advocates see the law as the latest threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court that legalized abortion.

The other case now in the courts is a Guam law that would prohibit abortions except when the mother's life is threatened. And pro-choice advocates are preparing to appeal a new Utah ban on almost all abortions.

An appeals court ruling on the Pennsylvania law is expected as early as late spring, and the case could be before the Supreme Court by October.