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.

In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court in the case Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky upheld Indiana's requirement that fetal remains be buried or cremated. But the justices declined to review the Indiana provision that restricts previability abortions, a time when a woman's right to choose has its strongest protection from state interference.