The U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster rulings on successive days that eliminated the right to abortion nationwide and widened the rights of gun owners illustrate how its expanded conservative majority is willing to boldly assert its power.
In both rulings, the conservative justices delivered long-sought victories to activists on the right who have decried the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion and believe the court has been slow to broaden gun rights.
The increasingly unrestrained court has become ever more willing to take up and decisively rule on contentious issues since the 2020 addition of former President Donald Trump's third appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, gave the nation's top judicial body a 6-3 conservative majority.