US judge blocks restrictive Missouri abortion law

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (AFP): A Missouri court on Tuesday temporarily suspended a restrictive abortion law that was set to come into effect the following day in the conservative central US state.

Kansas City Judge Howard Sachs said the law, which bans abortions after the eighth week of pregnancy, violates the Supreme Court's ruling that guarantees the right to an abortion as long as the fetus is not viable.

"However formulated, the legislation on its face conflicts with the Supreme Court ruling that neither legislative nor judicial limits on abortion can be measured by specified weeks of development of a fetus," Sachs said.

He did not, however, block the portion of the law that would ban terminations on the basis of fetal sex, race or risk of Down syndrome.

Several conservative southern and central US states have launched sweeping attempts to limit abortion rights by adopting laws that ban the practice early in a pregnancy.