On Monday, a federal judge in Texas blocked a part of the state's restrictive abortion legislation that would have required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
The decision came one day before the part of the law was to take effect, and prevented a disruptive change at Texas abortion clinics, according to The New York Times.
It was a victory for pro-choice groups, who said that the new measure did not serve a medical purpose and could force as many as one-third of the state's 36 clinics to shut its doors. However, the court partly upheld the second portion of the law, which required doctors to use a particular drug protocol in nonsurgical, medication-induced abortions. Doctors say that the protocol is restrictive and outmoded.
The judge who struck down part of the law is Judge Lee Yeakel of United States District Court in Austin. He declared that "the act's admitting-privileges provision is without a rational basis and places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus."
Gov. Rick Perry, who is fiercely opposed to abortion, signed the limiting legislation in July. It was temporarily halted when Wendy Davis, a Democratic senator, staged an 11-hour filibuster in the Republican-controlled legislature. Ms. Davis is now running for governor, and abortion rights is central to her platform.
Texas officials jumped to appeal the decision to the Court of the Appeals of the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. In papers filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot asked a federal appeals court judge to make a decision about whether to grant an emergency appeal that would allow the state to enforce the law, which could potentially shut down a dozen abortion clinics.
Courts in Mississippi, Alabama, North Dakota and Wisconsin have also blocked admitting-privilege requirements in state abortion laws.
Monday's ruling was praised by the chief executive of Whole Woman's Health, a private group that warned that it could be forced to close its clinics in McAllen, Fort Worth and San Antonio because those clinics use visiting doctors who cannot get access to admitting privileges at local hospitals.
"We are very relieved," said the chief, Amy Hagstrom Miller.
Abortion rights groups brought the suit against the two parts of the anti-abortion law adopted in July. They claimed that the new measures would have "dramatic and draconian" effects on women's access to the procedure. However, lawyers for the states argued that such claims were exaggerated, and the provisions served the state's intention of "protecting fetal life."
Gov. Perry quickly responded to the decision on Monday. "We will continue fighting to implement the laws passed by the duly elected officials of our state, laws that reflect the will and values of Texans," he wrote in a statement.
The lawsuit did not challenge two other measures in the law-- a requirement that abortion clinics meet the expensive standards of ambulatory surgery centers, and a ban on almost all abortions after 20 weeks of conception, which takes effect today.
Lawyers for the state said that the new measures would not pose an "undue burden" on women seeking abortions.
Plaintiffs asserted that the provisions did not serve a medical interest, and prevented women from exercising their constitutional right to have an abortion.
The suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas and the owners of other Texas clinics.
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