( CNN ) -- A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order that blocks Alabama from enforcing a key portion of a new abortion law that requires doctors at an abortion clinic to have admitting privileges at a local hospital . U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson 's ruling on Tuesday puts on hold what is considered the lynchpin of Alabama 's new abortion law , which is considered one of the toughest in the nation . Thompson barred the state from enforcing that portion of the law until March 2014 , a month after oral arguments are scheduled in a lawsuit brought against the state 's attorney general by Planned Parenthood . In conservative states , abortion pushback with an eye toward Roe v. Wade . The state has argued the measure is designed to protect the health of a patient . The plaintiffs call it medically unnecessary due to the safety of abortion procedures and said enforcement of the section will force them to shut down . Thompson 's order comes just days after federal judges in Wisconsin and North Dakota blocked those states from enforcing new abortion laws . In Wisconsin , U.S. District Judge William Conley issued a temporary restraining order against the enforcement of the law that bans doctors from performing abortions if they do n't have admitting privileges to hospitals within 30 minutes of their practice . After divisive debate , Texas Senate approves restrictive abortion measure . Conley issued the order after Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed suit . The group alleges the admitting privilege requirement is unconstitutional and treats doctors who perform abortions differently from doctors who perform other types of medical procedures . In North Dakota , a federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of the state 's new abortion law that is considered one of the most restrictive in the country , saying it was `` unconstitutional . '' The North Dakota law bans an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected -- sometimes as early as six weeks into a pregnancy . U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland granted a temporary injunction after a Fargo women 's clinic filed a lawsuit last month . In his decision , the judge said `` there is no question '' that the law known as HB 1456 directly contradicts a `` litany '' of Supreme Court cases that address restraints on abortion , including Roe v. Wade . N.C. House passes restrictive abortion bill . CNN 's Joe Sutton contributed to this report .
U.S. District Judge David Lee Thompson bars authorities from enforcing the law until 2013 . The federal judge 's temporary stay order is a response to a lawsuit against the state . Planned Parenthood of Alabama is suing , saying the law is unnecessary .