Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court Thursday blocked a Louisiana abortion access law from going into effect for now, dealing a victory to opponents of the law who argued it could decimate "safe and legal" abortions in the state. The Supreme Court said in 2016 that the restrictions in the Texas law constituted an undue burden on a woman's right to seek an abortion. Louisiana appealed the case to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which had previously upheld the Texas law before the Supreme Court reversed it. In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the circuit court acknowledged in its opinion that it was beholden to the Supreme Court's opinion, but it distinguished the Louisiana law from the Texas law. "And if so, then the new law would not impose an undue burden for purposes of" Supreme Court precedent, he wrote.

Source: CNN February 08, 2019 02:56 UTC