FEATURE W ith the July 2018 retirement of Senior Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy and the subsequent confirmation of Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in October of the same year, the U.S. Supreme Court saw a definite shift in a conservative direction. While Kennedy was often called the Court's swing vote, notably voting in favor of same-sex marriage and abortion rights and against some aspects of the death penalty, Kavanaugh is seen as a more reliable conservative. He ascended to the Supreme Court right behind conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's choice to fill the seat of deceased Justice Antonin Scalia in 2017. The result: The abortion debate is once again front and center, playing out in many state legislatures. A number of states have recently enacted laws restricting access to abortion in more broad ways than in recent years. At the same time, other states such as New York and Maine have passed laws increasing access to abortion. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate hold signs in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2019 during the March for Life, an annual event marking the anniversary of the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images MARCH/APRIL 2020 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 21