State health department inspectors had planned to check the clinic for compliance Monday morning. (Courtesy Creative Commons/ Alexandra Lee)

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Jordan said he entered the order because the "act's purpose is to eliminate abortions in Mississippi."

The law would have required physicians in the state's only abortion clinic to obtain privileges at local hospitals. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain and the fact that the clinics two doctors commute from out of state makes it a practical impossibility.

"They likewise submitted evidence that no safety or health concerns motivated its passage," Jordan said. "This evidence has not yet been rebutted."

Critics have said the law would make it harder for women to obtain a federally-protected medical procedure. The nearest abortion clinics are more than 200 miles away from Jackson. In a state where 20 percent of the state lives in poverty, such travel can present an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining care.

A sponsor of the measure, Republican state Representative Sam Mims, said the law aims to protect women. 

Mississippi already has some of the toughest abortion laws in the nation. It also ranks high in teen pregnancy, with a rate 60 percent higher than the national average in 2010.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 11.

Follow Neon Tommy's coverage of the abortion debate.

Reawch Executive Producer Dawn Megli here; follow her on Twitter here.