New York agreed to a court order on Wednesday that bars state officials from accessing sensitive private documents belonging to the Sisters of Life, a group of Catholic nuns that ministers to pregnant women.

The court order ended a yearlong legal battle that began when the Sisters of Life sued the New York State Department of Health in federal court over a state law that gave officials the ability to obtain private documents from crisis pregnancy centers if they did not provide referrals for abortion.

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The Sisters of Life, who were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, had argued that the requests were "plainly unconstitutional" because they targeted Sisters of Life based on constitutionally protected speech. On Wednesday, the state agreed not to enforce the law.

"Defendant agrees and is hereby ordered not to take any enforcement action of any kind against Plaintiff based on Plaintiff's nonresponse to or noncompliance with any survey, document request, or information request of any kind authorized by or issued by Defendant pursuant to the Statute," the court order says.

In a statement, Mark Rienzi, the president and CEO of the Becket Fund, said the court order was "a win for the Sisters and the women they serve."

"The government never should have enacted this law, and we are thrilled that it ends with a federal court order that the State should just leave the Sisters alone while they do their important work," he said.

Sr. Maris Stella, the vicar general of the Sisters of Life, said the group of nuns is "grateful for this victory, which protects our right to continue to uphold and defend the beauty and strength of women."

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"In over 30 years of serving women in the State of New York, we have learned that what a woman really needs is to be seen, heard, and believed in, which is why we are committed to providing the necessary emotional, practical, and spiritual support for her to flourish," she said. "We are called to bring hope, comfort, and joy to women who feel they have nowhere else to turn. The judge's order will protect us as we continue our ministry."

The Washington Examiner reached out to the New York State Department of Health for comment.