People gather outside the Supreme Court building, on the day of hearing arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

(Reuters) - The next year will likely be an active one for health law - particularly as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to issue significant rulings on abortion rights and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Here are some highlights to watch in 2022:

THE SUPREME COURT COULD ELIMINATE LONGSTANDING ABORTION RIGHTS

During oral arguments in December on a Mississippi abortion law, the Supreme Court's conservative justices signaled a willingness to dramatically curtail abortion rights in America. The state law, which bans abortion starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy, has been blocked by lower courts, but Mississippi has asked the nation's top court to revive it. Its 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade established broad nationwide abortion rights. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh, echoing his conservative colleagues, said during the argument that "the Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice on the question of abortion but leaves the issue to the people of the states or perhaps Congress to resolve in the democratic process." If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be the realization of a decades-long goal by anti-abortion activists, made possible by the court's current 6-3 conservative majority, and would likely make abortion inaccessible in many Republican-run states.

SUPREME COURT...

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