In Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 974-75, 117 S. Ct. 1865, 138 L. Ed. 2d 162 (1997), the Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs -- who alleged that a Montana statute restricting the performance of abortions to licensed physicians imposed an undue burden -- were not entitled to preliminary injunctive relief, id. at 972, even though plaintiffs provided evidence that nonphysicians had been performing surgical abortions with comparable complication rates, id. at 973. In so holding, the Supreme Court reiterated that states had broad authority to restrict the performance of some functions to licensed professionals "even if an objective assessment might suggest that those same tasks could be performed by others." Id. The Supreme Court premised this holding on the failure of the plaintiffs to show that the restriction had been enacted for an improper purpose. Id. at 973.