A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Sunday night allowing clinics in Alabama to continue providing abortion care amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

United States District Judge Myron Thompson, the same judge who prevented Alabama’s near-total abortion ban from going into effect in November 2019, said in the court filing the defendants - Alabama state health officer Scott Harris and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall - and their offices cannot use the Alabama Department of Public Health’s order mandating the postponement of all medically unnecessary procedures to prevent healthcare providers from performing abortions

“[T]he reasonable medical judgment of abortion providers will be treated with the same respect and deference as the judgments of other medical providers. The decisions will not be singled out for adverse consequences because the services in question are abortions or abortion-related,” Thompson wrote.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama filed for a temporary restraining order on behalf of Dr. Yashica Robinson, an abortion provider and obstetrical gynecologist, in Huntsville after the March 27 health order issued by the Alabama Department of Public Health did not clarify what emergency medical procedures the order would allow. Thompson heard testimony by way of a hearing over the telephone from Robinson and Dr. Harris, on April 7.

Robinson said in her testimony she was worried her medical judgement would not be taken seriously considering Alabama’s continued prosecution of clinics in the courts and its most recent near-total ban, which passed in May 2019.

“As health care providers, we hold the health and safety of our patients above all else,” Robinson said in a press release. “We must all do our part during this public health crisis, but this decision allows doctors who perform abortions, just like all other doctors, to exercise our judgment to ensure that essential, time sensitive health care can continue.”

Four other states are facing similar litigation amid abortion limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic including Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Oklahoma. Clinics in Alabama have heard from an influx of patients in Texas seeking to reschedule canceled appointments.

“Politicians should be focused on protecting the health and safety of our community, not using the pandemic as a way to limit access to abortion,” said Randall Marshall, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama. “This is a critical victory that ensures that the government response to the pandemic is grounded in public health, not politics.”