Indiana AG: Overturn of Roe v. Wade wouldn’t change his office’s actions

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Attorney General Todd Rokita on Tuesday said any changes to abortion policy in Indiana are up to lawmakers, not his office.

Rokita said the draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion leaked last week in the Dobbs v. Jackson case that, if realized, would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling would not itself immediately change abortion policies. He said the ruling would simply return the question of abortion law to the states.

Indiana lawmakers in March asked Gov. Eric Holcomb to call a special session on abortion law if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

Rokita said his office would not engage in any unilateral action on abortion but would instead wait for direction from lawmakers. “There’s nothing really to act on in the sense that the Supreme Court is saying that the constitutionality of the right to an abortion in our constitution is not there,” he said.

Critics of the draft ruling have said they fear overturning Roe v. Wade would jeopardize other rulings that relied on it for guidance, notably the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. Rokita said he rejects that logic. He said the draft opinion is clear that it treats abortion as a unique issue. Asked whether he would file any court briefs on LGBT rights using the logic of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, Rokita replied he would not answer a hypothetical question.

“My record speaks for itself. I very much am for keeping government limited, allowing liberty in all its phases and fashions,” he said.

Republican lawmakers in other states, including Missouri, have proposed prosecuting women who travel out of state to seek abortion services or who order abortion pills. Rokita said, as things currently stand, he doubted his office would prosecute someone who crosses state lines for abortion services.