• Texas asked an appeals court on Friday to reinstate a near-total ban on abortions in the state after a federal judge this week temporarily blocked the law 
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay by Tuesday morning 
  • The emergency stay request was in relation to US District Judge Robert Pitman’s preliminary injunction blocking the law 
  • Pitman, in a ruling late on Wednesday, put on hold the law, which prohibits women from obtaining an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy 
  • The case is part of a fierce legal battle over abortion access in the United States, with numerous states pursuing restrictions 
  • The US Supreme Court let the law take effect on September 1 in a 5-4 vote