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Federal Lawsuit Filed Over New Tennessee Abortion Laws

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A lawsuit has been filed in federal court over two abortion laws scheduled to take effect Wednesday.

The lawsuit has asked a judge to block a law requiring surgical abortion providers to be regulated as ambulatory surgical treatment centers. The suit also sought to block a law requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo a 48-hour waiting period after receiving in-person counseling by a physician.

According to reports, the lawsuit was filed Thursday by CHOICES, the Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, Adams & Boyle P.C., which has operated the Bristol Regional Women's Center in Bristol and The Women's Center in Nashville, and Dr. Wesley Adams Jr., an obstetrician-gynecologist who has provided abortions at the Nashville and Bristol clinics.

The lawsuit also challenged a 2012 law that requires doctors performing abortions to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital. 

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