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A federal judge ordered Indiana on Thursday to recognize the out-of-state marriage of a Munster lesbian couple because one of the women has Stage 4 ovarian cancer and is terminally ill.

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young granted the emergency request to Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney in Evansville, who argued for immediate recognition of their 2013 Massachusetts marriage via a temporary restraining order.

The couple have said that they need their marriage to be recognized so they can access federal and state safety nets for surviving spouses and their children and so that Quasney’s marital status on her death certificate will reflect their wedding last year.

Quasney and Sandler, who have been together 13 years and have two daughters, ages 1 and 2. They were conceived through “reproductive technology” and birthed by Sandler, according to their brief. In their federal complaint, the women argued that Indiana’s marriage law “encourages and invites private bias and discrimination, including in medical settings,” and as unmarried it would interfere with Sandler’s ability to take care of her partner’s affairs after her death. She would be denied the safety net generally available to a surviving spouse and the children of the person who has died.

Arguing on behalf of the state, Solicitor General Tom Fisher said that under current Indiana law, the state’s marriage statute does not allow for hardship exceptions, like the one in Sandler and Quasney’s case. He said that request doesn’t constitute immediate harm and wouldn’t justify the emergency request for recognition.

Thankfully the judge did not agree.

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