The issue focused on whether women who had legal abortions were protected from liability for criminal prosecution in civil cases. In court, lawyers argued that federal law permitted abortion rights activists to sue medical providers and courts could not legally judge the legality of legal abortions.

In court documents filed last month, attorneys for Planned Parenthood also noted that federal law allows lawsuits against medical facilities that provide abortions. The lawsuit said that laws criminalizing abortion rights supporters have left legal clinics without financial resources to cover medical bills.

This week's