Indiana attorney general vows to appeal judge's ruling stopping near-total abortion ban
CHICAGO (CBS) – Just one week after a new law went into effect making most abortions in the state of Indiana illegal, a county judge blocked the law with a ruling Thursday morning.
CBS 2 investigator Megan Hickey had more on the back and forth.
Attorney General Todd Rokita said he'll fight the ruling. Indiana's anti-abortion rights groups are hoping this is a temporary halt, but pro-abortion rights groups are applauding the ruling.
After a week of celebrations for some and protests for others, the Thursday morning ruling reversed the state's near-total abortion ban that went into effect on Sept. 15.
The ACLU, Planned Parenthood and other providers in Indiana sued the state. In a filing on Thursday issuing a preliminary injunction, Special Judge Kelsey Hanlon said Indiana's constitution reasonably protects a woman's right to choose.
"The common law, our constitution, and Indiana's statutes all reflect a commitment to self-determination," Hanlon wrote.
Not everyone agrees.
"Indiana's constitution is very clear: there is no right to an abortion in the Indiana constitution," said Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life.
Fichter said his group was expecting this challenge and will help fight to reverse it as soon as possible.
"We're very hopeful this is going to be a very short injunction," he said.
Meanwhile, Rima Shahid, with the Indiana nonprofit Women4Change said they're rejoicing in this news, after a week full of anxiety.
"We're just going to continue to advocate for people to be able to make decisions about them and their bodies," Shahid said, adding "Seven days ago, we saw some really chilling pictures of empty waiting rooms. What those empty waiting rooms really signified was all those Hoosiers that weren't able to seek the health care that they needed."
The law did make exceptions for when the mother's life is at risk, or if there's a serious health risk for the mother. It also allowed for exceptions in cases of rape or incest in the first 10 weeks.