Group asks judge to block Texas sonogram law
A reproductive rights group wants a federal judge in Texas to block a new state law requiring doctors to conduct a sonogram before an abortion.
The Center for Reproductive Rights has already filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law which takes effect on Sept. 1. Friday's motion asks U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin to block the law pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
A hearing was not immediately set.
The group claims the law violates the First Amendment rights of both the doctor and patient and discriminates against women.
The law requires a doctor to describe the fetus' features and allows women to hear the fetal heartbeat. Exemptions are allowed for cases of rape and incest or when the fetus has fatal abnormalities.
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