On Monday, a federal judge ruled against reinstating Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period for abortions while the state appeals the judge’s ruling that the law was unconstitutional.
 
In October, Judge Bernard Friedman ruled unconstitutional Tennessee’s mandatory 48-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, but during the pendency of the trial over the law, he had allowed it to go into effect. Thus, until his October ruling, the law had been in effect since 2015 when it was enacted.

The state had hoped that the judge would allow the law to remain in effect until the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had decided whether his ruling on the constitutionality of the law was correct. But the judge said no.

Although abortion waiting periods have been struck down by state courts in the past, this case was the first in which a federal court struck down a waiting period. However, Tennessee’s waiting period was 48 hours and the ones that have been upheld were only for 24 hours. 

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