During arguments on Louisiana's abortion law Wednesday, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. appeared ready to reexamine a decades-long line of U.S. Supreme Court cases allowing individuals to raise the rights of others in challenges to allegedly unconstitutional law. But in all such challenges or just abortion cases?

Alito questioned Julie Rikelman of the Center for Reproductive Rights, counsel to the Louisiana clinic June Medical Services and its physicians, about one of the most potentially significant issues in the case: whether the clinic and physicians have so-called third-party standing to challenge the state's hospital admitting privileges requirement. A ruling that they don't have standing to sue could reduce or eliminate challenges to state abortion restrictions, according to abortion rights advocates.

"Would you agree with the general proposition that a party should not be able to sue ostensibly to protect the right of other people, if there is a real conflict of interest between the party who is suing and those whose rights the party claims to be attempting to defend?" Alito asked Rikelman at one point during the hour-long arguments in the case June Medical Services v. Russo.