NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Two Tennessee abortion clinics will not have to shut down on July 1 after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order.
According to reports, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp issued an order on Friday that blocked the state from enforcing a new law requiring clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical treatment centers.
The clinics claimed in a hearing there was no way they could obtain the licenses in time to comply with the new law.
The ruling affected The Women's Center in Nashville and the Bristol Regional Women's Center.
The larger lawsuit included a third clinic in Memphis and challenged two other abortion laws. One required a 48-hour waiting period before abortions. Another required physicians performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
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