( CNN ) -- A three-judge federal appeals court panel Tuesday overturned a lower court 's order blocking key parts of a Texas law requiring doctors to provide a sonogram to pregnant women before they get an abortion , potentially clearing the way for enforcement of the law . In August , just before the law was set to take effect September 1 , U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin , Texas , found several portions of the law `` unconstitutionally vague , '' and ruled it violated the First Amendment by compelling doctors and patients to engage in government-mandated speech . But a panel on the 5th U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Sparks ' injunction against enforcing the law , saying opponents did not prove it violated the Constitution . The panel remanded the suit back to the lower court for further proceedings . As written , the law would require women seeking an abortion in Texas to view a picture of the embryo or fetus and hear a description of its development before having the procedure . Sparks ' injunction blocked Texas from enforcing any penalties against a doctor who failed to place sonogram pictures where a pregnant woman may see them , or does not make the fetus ' heartbeat audible . It also blocked penalties against the woman . A previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Pennsylvania case `` held that the fact that such truthful , accurate information may cause a woman to choose not to abort her pregnancy only reinforces its relevance to an informed decision , '' U.S . Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham wrote in a concurring opinion . `` Insisting that a doctor give this information in his traditional role of securing informed consent is permissible . '' `` Today 's ruling is a victory for all who stand in defense of life , '' Texas Gov . Rick Perry said in a statement . `` Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy , and this important sonogram legislation ensures that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying , and understands the devastating impact of such a life-ending decision . `` We will continue to fight any attempt to limit our state 's laws that value and protect the unborn , '' Perry said . The suit was filed by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights . Nancy Northrup , the center 's president and CEO , said the court decision was `` extreme . '' `` This clears the way for the enforcement of an insulting and intrusive law whose sole purpose is to harass women and dissuade them from exercising their constitutionally protected reproductive rights , '' Northrup said in a statement . `` Until today , every court that has reviewed similarly intrusive laws have ruled the laws unconstitutional . '' The law , she said , `` serves only to place multiple hurdles between women and the free and full exercise of their reproductive rights . '' The center , she said , is evaluating `` all available means '' to challenge the Texas law `` and all laws that seek to undermine women 's fundamental rights . '' The bill generated some controversy in Texas , but easily passed through the state 's House and Senate , both of which are controlled by Republicans . The law says that at least 24 hours before an abortion is performed , women must undergo a sonogram , a procedure that uses ultrasound to create an image . The doctor is required to give , `` in a manner understandable to a layperson , a verbal explanation of the results of the sonogram images , including a medical description of the dimensions of the embryo or fetus , the presence of cardiac activity and the presence of external members and internal organs , '' the law says . CNN 's Jamie Crawford contributed to this report .
NEW : Abortion - rights group : Law is ` ` insulting and intrusive '' The decision paved the way for potential enforcement of the law . Dr . Rick Perry hails the decision as a victory .