A federal judge smacked down a series of threats by Alabama’s Republican attorney general to prosecute groups that help women obtain out-of-state abortions, weighing into a debate over access to the procedure that has lingered since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v.

An Alabama judge has ruled that a lawsuit seeking to prevent the state from prosecuting those who aids patients in receiving abortion care out of state may continue.

A group of Alabama healthcare providers have scored a legal win after a judge allowed a lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit seeks to prevent state Attorney General Steve Marshall from prosecuting those helping residents have an abortion in states where the procedure is legal.

A federal judge on Monday rejected an attempt to toss a suit challenging Alabama’s attorney general’s threat to prosecute those who help with out-of-state travel for abortions, paving the way for the case to move forward.