AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday urged a federal judge to block the nation's most restrictive abortion law, which has banned most abortions in Texas since early September and sent women racing to get care beyond the borders of the second-most populous state.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, did not say when he would rule following a nearly three-hour hearing in Austin. At least one Texas abortion provider said it stood ready to resume offering services at its three clinics if the law known as Senate Bill 8 is temporarily s...