A federal judge has lifted a temporary restraining order that prevented the state from enforcing a new abortion law but says he may hold another hearing this week.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/1gY8hSl ) reports U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp lifted the order Monday. He granted it in June to allow the Women’s Center in Nashville and the Bristol Regional Women’s Center in East Tennessee to start the licensing process under the new law that went into effect July 1.
Attorneys for the clinic operators say their physicians are concerned about possible prosecution or loss of license under the new law.
Special counsel Steven Hart with the attorney general’s office, who is defending the lawsuit, disputed that. “There is no indication either of the district attorneys are intending to prosecute,” Hart said.
The lawyer defending the lawsuit disputed that, but the judge said it was a possibility and said he would hold an emergency hearing Thursday if district attorneys aren’t willing to submit statements that they won’t seek charges.
