The state appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which upheld Reeves's ruling in a 3–0 decision in December 2019.[26] Senior Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham wrote for the Court, "In an unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's abortion cases have established (and affirmed, and re-affirmed) a woman's right to choose an abortion before viability. States may regulate abortion procedures prior to viability so long as they do not impose an undue burden on the woman's right, but they may not ban abortions."[27] A request for an en banc rehearing was denied.[28]