In another surprise intervention, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended on Tuesday a federal appeals court ruling that allowed Texas to enforce a law that required abortion clinics to upgrade their facilities to hospital level, according to the Associated Press.

In its five-line ruling, the court allows the clinics to stay open while the case goes through appeals, adding "The Court of Appeals' stay order with reference to the district court's order enjoying the ambulatory surgical center requirement is vacated. The application is denied in all other respects."

The Supreme Court's ruling in Whole Woman's Health et al. v. Lakey was in response to an emergency petition filed by The Center for Reproductive Rights asking the court to take immediate action to put the Texas laws on hold.

On Oct. 2 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the Texas law that would require all abortion clinics in the state to meet the standards for "ambulatory surgical centers," including regulations concerning building, equipment and staffing.

The Texas State Attorney General argued the law was needed to protect women's health. Abortion providers said the regulations were too costly, unnecessary, and designed to put them out of business.

"What we saw last Thursday with the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is unprecedented," said Nancy Northup, executive director for the Center for Reproductive Rights. "We have never seen the effect of a law like you see in Texas where you lose 80 percent of the clinics in a state."

The Texas law was enacted last year by Texas' Republican-led legislature. Before the law was enacted there were 41 medical practices licensed to provide abortions in the state. The law was passed after a marathon filibuster by Democratic state senator Wendy Davis, which made her a national figure. Davis is now running for governor of the state in next month's election.

In August, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled the surgical-center rule imposed an unconstitutional burden on women seeking abortions.