A federal judge blocks a controversial Texas law requiring fetal remains be cremated or buried.

In a move meant to penalize and stigmatize women and abortion providers, Texas recently approved new rules requiring health care facilities that perform abortions to bury or cremate fetal remains instead of disposing of them in a sanitary landfill like other forms of biological medical waste.

AP reports Austin-based U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks granted a temporary restraining order blocking the new rules. Two days of testimony are scheduled for early next month, and Judge Sparks is expected to rule by Jan. 6 on whether the new anti-abortion rules will be allowed to stand going forward.

Earlier this month, The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of abortion providers in the state seeking a permanent injunction against the rule.

In a statement David Brown, senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, who represented the plaintiffs in Thursday’s hearing, said:

We look forward to demonstrating that these regulations are unwise, unjustified and unconstitutional, and should be permanently struck down.

In another statement, Nancy Northup, the President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said:

These insidious regulations are a new low in Texas’ long history of denying women the respect that they deserve to make their own decision about their lives and their healthcare.

In addition, the Satanic Temple also protested the new rules. In a recently released statement the Satanic Temple declared the rules violate their religious beliefs:

The Satanic Temple (TST), an international religious organization headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, has declared immunity for its members from the Texas rule requiring the cremation or burial of fetal remains that is slated to go into effect on December 19th. One of The Satanic Temple’s fundamental tenets is the inviolability of one’s body. As such, TST affirms that this rule violates their religious beliefs and their members may refuse to adhere.

The new rules were slated to go into effect December 19, and would have required abortion providers to bury or cremate all fetal remains, regardless of the length of gestation.

Bottom line: The new rules in Texas represent the desires of despicable religious extremist to torment women who have abortions. The rules have nothing to do with public safety. They are instead yet another attempt by religious conservatives to shame and humiliate women seeking an abortion, while punishing abortion providers with onerous and unnecessary rules and restrictions.