A federal judge ruled that it's unconstitutional to force abortion clinics to become surgical centers in Texas, effectively getting rid of a key component of an anti-abortion law that would forced a number of facilities to close, CNN reported on Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel wrote, in making the ruling, that forcing clinics to meet the same standards as hospital-type surgical centers "imposes an undue burden on the right of women throughout Texas to seek a previability abortion."
That part of the Texas law was scheduled to go into effect on Monday. Critics of the law say it would have forced the majority of 19 abortion clinics to close. The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Medical Board filed a notice of appeal.
The law, which was signed by Governor Rick Perry last year, is controversial and considered one of the most restrictive in the country.
The Center for Reproductive Rights brought the lawsuit on behalf of some of the clinics, and said the federal judge's decision is a victory.
The court has made it clear that women's well-being is not advanced by laws attacking access to essential health care, and that rights protected by the U.S. Constitution may not be denied through laws that make them impossible to exercise," Nancy Northrup, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told CNN.
Texas also banned abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy, tightened usage guidelines for the drug RU486, and it requires doctors who perform abortions to have privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic where they're providing services.
The requirement that doctors must have admitting privileges was overturned last year, but a federal appeals court reversed the decision.
The 20-week ban law went into effect last year, while enforcement of the remainder of the law is expected to take effect in September.
