AUSTIN - A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state of Texas from implementing a controversial new rule targeting abortion by requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains, calling the regulation a possible "pretext for restricting abortion access" with the potential "to deliver a major, if not fatal, blow to health care providers performing abortions."

The sharply critical 24-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks extends his previous injunction against the state and orders the parties to move forward with a trial challenging the new rule mandating the cremation or burial of the remains from an abortion, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. The rule was to go into effect in December.

"Anti-abortion attacks cannot and will not slow us down," said Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman's Health, a plaintiff in the case. "It is so important that our resiliency continues to blaze a path, that people in all communities are empowered to stand up and continue to fight back against political interference that attempt to regulate our lives."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately promised to appeal Spark's decision.

"Texas has chosen to dignify the life of the unborn by requiring the humane disposition of fetal remains," Paxton said. "Indeed, no longer content with merely ending the life of the unborn, the radical left now objects to even the humane treatment of fetal remains. Texas stands committed to honoring the dignity of the unborn, and my office is proud to continue fighting for these new rules."

Officials in the state Health and Human Services Commission, overseen by the Department of State Health Services, introduced the regulation at the behest of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who later referenced the rule in a fundraising letter. The state quietly published the rule four days after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling last summer found Texas had gone too far in regulating abortion, striking down major provisions of the state's restrictive anti-abortion law as unconstitutional.

"Before the ink on the Supreme Court's opinion in Whole Woman's Health was dry, DSHS had already drafted amendments to Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code ... modifying the methods for disposal of fetal tissue," Sparks wrote, adding that the rule's language allowed the state to "exercise arbitrary, and potentially discriminatory, enforcement on an issue connected to abortion and therefore sensitive and hotly contested."

Sparks in a hearing earlier this month said it was "obvious" the new rule had no health benefits, striking a chord with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that any regulation that burdens access to abortion must offer a sufficient medical benefit.

Embryonic and fetal tissue currently is disposed of the same way as medical waste which undergoes chemical disinfection, grinding, incineration or cremation before being discarded in a sanitary sewer, sanitary landfill or by burial.

The state's attorneys argued in court earlier this month that the rule provides for the dignity of the unborn. Cremation and burial would be affordable if done in bulk, the state contends, and said abortion supporters had failed to identify irreparable harm the rule would cause.

An undue burdon

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of several Texas abortion and health care clinics, argues the regulation imposes government officials' religious beliefs on women and would create an undue burden to accessing abortion.

"Today's ruling acknowledges that these regulations do nothing to protect public health while imposing new burdens and uncertainty on health care providers and the diverse communities they serve," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the center.

The plaintiffs in the suit include Brookside Women's Medical Center PA and its founder, Lendol L. Davis; Nova Health Systems, Inc.; Alamo City Surgery Center PLLC; and Whole Woman's Health.

Nearly 55,000 abortions were performed in Texas in 2014, the latest year for which figures were available.

A top Texas Department of State Health Services official testified that the agency envisioned the remains would be buried in a mass grave. The Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops has offered to make cemetery space available across the state for the remains.

Witnesses for both the state and abortion providers said the cost of burial and cremation services, if done in bulk, could amount to less than $2 per abortion, but would require facilities that handle remains to store them in a freezer for weeks or months. Opponents of the rule say it would create additional emotional hardship for women undergoing an abortion or miscarriage.

"While the federal courts prevent Texas and other states from banning most abortions, surely Texas should be able restore some measure of dignity to those unborn babies who die from abortion. Unborn babies should never be treated like medical waste," said Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life.

The rule would apply to abortion clinics, as well as hospitals, forensic labs and pathology labs.

Abortion advocates and obstetricians testified in court that few if any women opt to have the fetal or embryonic remains buried.

Ruling 'disappointing'

After the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking provisions of Texas' abortion law last summer, Republican lawmakers promised to search for additional ways to curb the procedure in Texas. Several lawmakers have drafted bills to ensure that fetal burial and cremation is written into state law to give the regulation more weight. Other proposals include abolishing a common second-trimester abortion technique known as dilation and evacuation, and banning abortion entirely.

Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who filed a bill to require burial or cremation of fetal remains, called Friday's ruling "disappointing."

"However, the two-day court hearing provided us with essential input to ensure we pass good, constitutionally sound public policy," he said in a statement. "Committed to changing antiquated, abhorrent practices that do not offer dignity for unborn children - as we do for all deceased humans, I am committed to pursuing this important endeavor during the current 85th Session of the Texas Legislature."