SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Abortion rights activists are suing Utah over the constitutionality of a new law banning most abortions after 18 weeks of gestation.

The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Utah, asking a judge to delay the scheduled implementation of the law on May 14.

The legal challenge was expected after the majority-Republican state Legislature passed the law this year and Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed it. Herbert said the law strikes the right balance between a woman’s right to choose and protecting unborn babies.

The measure’s sponsor says she sponsored it to reduce the number of second-trimester abortions that “shock the conscience.”

The legal battle in Utah comes as abortion opponents across the country push for near-total bans on the procedure, emboldened by the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court.