A US federal judge has temporarily blocked a new law banning nearly all abortions in the state of Missouri after eight weeks of pregnancy from going into effect, reports say.
The law was set to come into effect on Wednesday.
The law would mean that abortions past eight weeks would be banned in most cases, including rape or incest.
The controversial legislation has divided politicians in the state.
US District Judge Howard Sachs ruled on Tuesday that it was not to be enforced, pending litigation or further order of the court, according to a court document cited by Reuters news agency.
source: bbc.com