Kentucky’s Republican attorney general should be allowed to defend the constitutionality of the state’s abortion law in court after the Democratic governor refused to do so, the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision on March 3. Although Kentucky’s abortion law itself wasn’t at issue at the case, this is the court’s first opinion in an abortion-related case since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s addition to the bench in October 2020 gave its conservative wing a 6–3 majority. The high court examined only whether Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron should be allowed to intervene in the case on behalf of his state after the trial court invalidated the law and its decision was upheld by an appeals court. Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had refused to defend the statute in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit turned down Cameron’s request to take over state representation in the case. The …