Justice Department lawyers and abortion rights advocates are scheduled to appear today before three federal judges in New York, San Francisco, and Lincoln, Neb., to begin a battle over the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act approved by Congress and signed by President Bush last fall.

The case is considered the most significant legal confrontation over abortion since 1973's Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman's right to have an abortion.

The trials were not planned to be simultaneous. The Justice Department had asked for a firm trial date no more than four months after the initial filing of the lawsuits, and all three judges chose today, about the last day of that period.

Different rulings from the various courts, expected to be issued as early as May, would heighten the possibility that the high court would be forced to tackle the abortion issue again, a process that could take a year or more easily.

The trials will serve as an important first step in defending the constitutionality of the ban and bringing an end to a barbaric medical practice, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law.

"We believe the ban on partial-birth abortion is constitutional and will survive these legal challenges," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who is supporting the Department of Justice in its defense of the ban. "It is our hope that the courts will come to the same conclusion that the American people have reached: that there is no medical necessity for a barbaric practice that takes the life of a child moments before birth. It is time to end this gruesome procedure that can only be described as infanticide."

Sekulow, who will be attending the trial in New York City which begins Monday, says he is encouraged by the rulings of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Casey, who has ordered that New York Presbyterian Hospital must turn over its records involving partial-birth abortions to the Justice Department. Further, Judge Casey ruled that he would permit testimony that the unborn child can feel pain during an abortion.

"It is important to establish in court the horrific nature of partial-birth abortion," said Sekulow. "In the New York case, evidence will be presented to show the violent and painful death that results from a partial-birth abortion but also the fact that there is no medical need for such a procedure."