It appears that the year 2000 will be one of the most important years for Supreme Court decisions. In the next few months, the court will consider: (1) whether partial-birth abortion can be banned by state legislatures, (2) whether the Boy Scouts must allow homosexual troop leaders, and (3) whether student-led prayers can be offered before football games and graduation.
And these three cases are just the tip of the iceberg. Other important cases before the court involve the rights of grandparents and the rights of people who protest outside of abortion clinics. Many court watchers believe that this year will be full of precedent-setting cases.
Who would have guessed in 1995 when news first broke about partial-birth abortion, that five years later Congress and the courts would still be debating about whether to ban the procedure? Even members of Congress who label themselves as "pro-choice" believe that partial-birth abortion is effectively 4/5th infanticide and 1/5th abortion.
Who would have guessed that the Boy Scouts of America would have to defend their decision to reject a troop leader who was not morally pure? A lower court even rejected the idea that the Boy Scouts were a private organization and ruled that scouting organizations are "public accommodations" under New Jersey law. The Supreme Court decision will no doubt affect many more organizations than the Boy Scouts.
Who would have guessed that student-led prayers before footballs games would be banned? The court will have to rule on whether the Constitution provides for a separation of player and prayer.
Nevertheless these cases (and many more) will be decided in the next few months. Christians should begin praying now the the justices render wise decisions on these important cases.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.