Less than an hour after being signed by republican Tennessee governor Bill Lee, a federal judge blocked the implementation of a controversial abortion ban, the Tennessean reports.
US District Court Judge for the District of Middle Tennessee, William L. “Chip” Campbell, a Trump judicial appointee in 2018, ruled that the plaintiffs in the case–which included Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and abortion rights groups–would be immediately harmed by the law in ordering the restraining order.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated they will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, harm, loss, or damage if injunctive relief is not granted pending a preliminary injunction hearing. The Act will immediately impact patients seeking abortions and imposes criminal sanctions on abortion providers. The time-sensitive nature of the procedure also weighs in favor of injunctive relief pending a preliminary injunction hearing,” Campbell wrote, per the Tennessean.
Campbell also noted that the public interest would not be harmed by an injunction blocking the implementation of the law.
The Tennessee would’ve prevented any abortion after a fetal heartbeat had been detected in any case except where the mother’s life was in danger. It would not permit abortions in cases of rape or incest, and it barred doctors from performing an abortion if he/she learns the patients is seeking an abortion because of the fetus’s sex or race, or if the fetus has Down syndrome.