A federal judge in Kentucky has signed an order temporarily stalling enforcement of a new abortion law being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Under the joint consent order, state officials agreed to take no action to enforce the law until a judge rules on the ACLU's request for a preliminary injunction.
The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed the law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure known as "dilation and evacuation."
The dilation and evacuation procedure was used in 537 of 3,312 abortions done in Kentucky in 2016, according to state statistics. The ACLU says the law would result in "extinguished access" to abortion in Kentucky for women in their second trimester who are covered by the ban.
