LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said he'll defend "the constitutionality of Indiana's laws" in the wake of lawsuits challenging the state's near-total ban on abortion.
The lawsuit filed in a Monroe County court claims the ban "strips away the fundamental rights of people seeking abortion care" in violation of the Indiana Constitution. It asks for a judge to block the law from going into effect on Sept. 15, arguing the ban "will infringe on Hoosiers' right to privacy, violate Indiana's guarantee of equal privileges and immunities, and includes unconstitutionally vague language."
The Indiana law includes exceptions, allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest, before 10 weeks post-fertilization; to protect the life and physical health of the mother; and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly.
"We have a cultural life here in Indiana, and that's represented by who the people of this state elect to serve in the legislature," Rokita said Thursday. "One of my chief duties as attorney general is to defend the legislature and lawsuits and to defend the constitutionality of Indiana's laws, including pro-life laws."
Under new Indiana law, abortions could be performed only in hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals, meaning all abortion clinics would lose their licenses. Any doctors found to have performed an illegal abortion would be stripped of their state medical licenses and could face felony criminal charges punishable by up to six years in prison.
Indiana's ban followed the political firestorm over a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to the state from neighboring Ohio to end her pregnancy. The case gained wide attention when an Indianapolis doctor said the child came to Indiana because of Ohio's "fetal heartbeat" ban.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of abortion-rights supporters including Planned Parenthood, which operates four of Indiana's seven licensed abortion clinics, along with groups that operate two of the other clinics and a doctor who performs abortions.
It will be heard by a judge in southern Indiana's Monroe County, which includes the liberal-leaning city of Bloomington and Indiana University's main campus. All nine of the county's nine judges are Democrats, while all other counties with abortion clinics have judges who've either been elected as Republicans or been appointed by Republican governors.
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Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
