With the upcoming retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, many expect Trump to nominate a conservative replacement. As the Senate is largely conservative Republican, Trump should have no problem appointing his nominee.

The new Justice will bring the court to a 5-4 conservative majority. That should be good news for conservatives. But the issues are more complex than a single High Court ruling.

Ramifications of a Conservative Court

One of the largest debates between conservatives and liberals is the question of abortion. At first glance, it would seem easy for a conservative Court to make abortion illegal. But that’s not the case.

In the 1970’s, the Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that states must allow women to have abortions until the third trimester. It essentially made abortion legal until the point of fetal viability. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, the right to decide would fall back on individual states.

Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University, said he would expect only 20 states to make abortion illegal. For the evangelicals and conservatives to have a clear win, the Court would need to make abortion illegal. That is a much loftier, and harder to achieve goal.

Still, a Court ruling could be a morale booster for conservatives, say some. But others don’t want to deal with the backlash on the Republican party. They fear that such a ruling would turn many women to the Democrats and lead to a shift in power during the next election season as they try to restore the right to abortion.

What Conservatives Are Looking Forward To

Besides abortion, there are three other issues that conservatives can look forward to the Court ruling on. One is the reversal of a policy established under the Obama administration. Under his leadership, it became mandatory for churches, ministries, and other religious organizations to give employees access to abortion services under their healthcare plan.

The other hot-button issue is whether the government can force business owners to participate in activities they are religiously opposed to. The most notable examples are caterers and florists who wish to deny services for homosexual weddings.

A third issue, not yet a problem but a potential one is whether states can force ministers to perform weddings for homosexual couples.

All of these questions revolve around discrimination and religious freedom. Evangelicals and other conservatives feel positive about their chances of the Court ruling in their favor on three of these issues.