Written by Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters] – An Montana judge has temporarily halted the implementation of three abortion-restricting state laws. The decision was made just hours after he was given to lead a Planned Parenthood legal battle.

Yellowstone County District Judge Michael Moses indicated that he had granted a temporary order of restraining Planned Parenthood just one day before Friday’s restriction took effect. This was because he wanted to spend more time studying the case.

Planned Parenthood requested first a preliminary injunction, which could have stopped the imposition the statutes while the lawsuit was resolved. This temporary restraining order is valid for a period of 10 days.

Moses wrote a 3-page-long written order that stated, “The court cannot make a ruling as to plaintiff’s motion to a preliminary Injunction without sufficient time to examine the entire record.” “This case is extremely important in constitutional terms.”

America’s abortion debate is deeply divided. The majority of Americans support abortion rights, and the majority of Republicans disagree.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed three bills into law on November 1. They include restrictions on distribution of abortion inducing drugs, an abortion ban after 20 weeks gestation and the requirement for women to have an ultrasound before ending a pregnancy.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 1 https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/texas-six-week-abortion-ban-takes-effect-2021-09-01 allowed a Texas law restricting abortion to take effect even as litigation over its legality continues in lower courts. The U.S. Justice Department challenged it eight days later in federal court https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-announce-civil-rights-case-after-texas-abortion-ban-takes-effect-2021-09-09.

Moses claimed in his ruling (which was published shortly before 6 pm EDT), that the case had been given to him less than five hours ago. On Thursday, Moses took over the duties of an earlier judge.

Moses was appointed by Steve Bullock in 2014. He is a Democrat.

Planned Parenthood, which claimed in the lawsuit the Montana laws would make access to abortion more difficult for Montana women, welcomed the decision.

“The state court’s decision to block these cruel and unnecessary laws is a victory for reproductive freedom in Montana,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a written statement.

On Thursday night, a spokeswoman representing Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen was unable to be reached for comment.