One lesbian couple in Indiana will have their marriage recognized by the state after an appellate court decision on Tuesday, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has ordered Indiana to accept the marriage of a same-sex couple in an emergency ruling. One of the women is terminally ill.

Niki Quasney, who is battling ovarian cancer, and Amy Sandler were married last year in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal, but the couple lives in Munster, Indiana, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Sandler and Quasney were granted emergency recognition in May, as their case was ongoing. The couple asked for the recognition so Sandler's name would be on Quasney's death certificate as her spouse. The couple worries that Sandler won't be able to collect Social Security and other death benefits if their marriage isn't acknowledged, according to AP.

"It is time for the state of Indiana to leave Niki and Amy in peace and not subject them and their marriage to any more stress and uncertainty as this case proceeds. We're thrilled that the court ruled in favor of this family as Niki battles stage 4 ovarian cancer," Paul D. Castillo, attorney for the national gay rights group Lambda Legal, who represented the couple, told AP.

Judge Richard Young, who made the emergency ruling, also ruled last month that Indiana's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, according to the Tribune. The larger issue of state-wide gay marriage is still in the appeals process and the ruling for Sandler and Quasney does not affect any other couples in the state.

"We hope the court will look at this marriage, as well as the hundreds of couples legally married last week across the state, and understand that to deny the freedom to marry is to inhibit equal protection of loving Hoosier families under Indiana law," Hoosiers Unite for Marriage said in a statement. "It cannot stand, and we will fight both the legal battle and to make sure Hoosiers understand why marriage matters and why these couples deserve protection."