A federal judge on Wednesday blocked enforcement of Texas' recently enacted abortion law, which banned the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy and effectively restricted abortion access in the state.
Soon after a federal judge enforced the block, the state immediately appealed the decision, Reuters reports.
US District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his 113-page opinion that "this Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right," court documents show.
Pitman's ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by the Biden administration against Texas to temporarily block enforcement of the six-week ban, known as Senate Bill 8.
The Biden administration last month launched a legal challenge against Texas in response to the Supreme Court on September 2 allowing the Texas statute to stand a day after it took effect, per Reuters.
In a narrow 5-4 vote, the high court declined an emergency request from abortion providers in the state to block the law.
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The court's majority argued that its ruling was technical and that the justices did not consider the constitutionality of the law.
President Joe Biden slammed the Supreme Court's move, calling it "an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade."
The controversial new legislation which bans abortions after six weeks in Texas took effect after the Supreme Court's inaction.
The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court did not act upon objections from emergency requests brought forth by abortion providers.
This means that abortion after six weeks is illegal in the state - which is before many people even know they are pregnant, CNN reports.
Private lawsuits can therefore be brought against any pregnant person seeking to have an abortion after six weeks.
This amounts to a near-total ban on abortions and has no provision for victims of rape or incest.