(Adds background on why clinic filed lawsuit)
By Brendan O'Brien
July 22 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked North Dakota's new abortion law, which bans procedures to end pregnancy once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted a preliminary injunction on the law, the most restrictive in the country, which was to go into effect Aug. 1. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Red River Women's Clinic, the only abortion clinic in the state.
The Red River Women's Clinic said banning abortions that early, before many women even knew they were pregnant, would bar nearly 90 percent of the abortions it performs.
The clinic argues that the law violates the U.S. Constitution and places the health of women in danger.
The North Dakota law, which was approved in March, is among a host of restrictions on abortion passed by Republican-led state legislatures this year. (Reporting By Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou and Andre Grenon)
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