The recusal of a Trump-appointed appellate judge in an Indiana abortion law challenge indirectly propelled to the U.S. Supreme Court the greatest recent threat to the landmark reproductive rights cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

But the justices on Tuesday balked. They said too few federal appeals courts had reviewed state laws that would ban women from choosing an abortion, prior to viability, based on race, sex and disability.