Indiana Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita asked the state medical licensing board to discipline a doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who had traveled from Ohio.
The complaint alleges that Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated state law by not reporting the girl’s abuse to state authorities, as well as violated patient privacy laws by telling an Indianapolis Star reporter about the girl’s treatment.
The controversial account made waves in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Some media outlets and politicians falsely suggested that the story had been made up. A 27-year-old man has since been charged with raping the girl in Columbus, Ohio.
APPEALS COURT REINSTATES INDIANA FETAL CREMATION LAW
Bernard and her attorneys maintain that the girl's abuse had already been reported to the authorities in Ohio before she ever saw her, and argue that the anti-abortion Rokita has been spreading misleading or false information about the Indianapolis physician for months.
Rokita's complaint asked the board to impose "appropriate disciplinary action."
"Dr. Bernard violated the law, her patient’s trust and the standards for the medical profession when she disclosed her patient’s abuse, medical issues, and medical treatment to a reporter at an abortion rights rally to further her political agenda," the attorney general's office said in a Wednesday statement. "Simply concealing the patient’s name falls far short of her legal and ethical duties here."
"This case is not about whether an abortion was performed. It also is not about the office exposing anyone’s medical file. Those were arguments designed to thwart our investigation into the physician’s behavior," it added.
INDIANA MAN SENTENCED TO 70 YEARS FOR TORTURING HIS 4-YEAR-OLD SON TO DEATH
Following an article from the newspaper in July, Rokita told Fox News that he would investigate Bernard's actions and has continued the investigation even after rape charges were filed. Public records obtained by The Associated Press show Bernard met Indiana’s required three-day reporting period for an abortion performed on a girl younger than 16.
Deputy Attorney General Caryn Nieman-Szyper said last week that Bernard would not be under investigation if she had not disclosed the girl’s rape to a reporter to advance her own advocacy of abortion rights, adding that Bernard had not shown she had permission from the girl’s family to discuss her care in public.
Bernard said doctors determined that the girl was unable to have an abortion in Ohio due to the state's "fetal heartbeat" law banning abortions from the time cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo – before the mother realizes that she is pregnant.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/rxXJY9v
via IFTTT
