In Indiana, a disciplinary hearing has been held to determine whether or not to punish a doctor for publicly stating that he had performed an abortion on a 10-year old Ohio rape victim.
Todd Rokita (a Republican Indiana Attorney General) has accused Dr. Caitlin Bern of failing to report a child abuse case and violating the privacy of patients by talking to a reporter. Rokita requested that the Indiana Medical Licensing Board take disciplinary measures against Bernard in a complaint filed by him in November.
The board will vote on Thursday whether Bernard should be punished. According to Indiana law, possible discipline actions include sending reprimands and suspending or revoking the doctor’s license.
The Indianapolis Star published in July that Bernard received a phone call from a physician regarding a suspected child abuse case involving a 10-year-old. The child was a little over six weeks’ pregnant. Ohio has banned abortions after six weeks, following the Supreme Court ‘s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Star reported that the girl traveled to Indiana, where abortions were legal, to be treated by Bernard. Indiana has since passed a nearly total abortion ban. However, a judge later put the law on pause.
Cory Voight of the Indiana State Attorney General’s Office, who is the director of complex litigation, told the Indiana licensing board that Bernard had violated the state’s law by failing to maintain the confidentiality of the patient and not reporting the incident to Indiana law enforcement or the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Voight also said that Bernard violated HIPAA. This act prohibits medical professionals to disclose sensitive health information about a patient without the consent or knowledge of that patient.
This is not your typical hearing. This is the first time a case of this nature has been brought before the board. Voight stated in his opening remarks that “no physician has ever been so brazen about pursuing their own agenda.”
Alice Morical, Bernard’s attorney, stated that Bernard reported child abuse in accordance with Indiana law because she told a social worker from her university about this 10-year-old. Morical said that Bernard didn’t violate HIPPA because she did not provide identifying information, such as the patient’s date of birth, name or hospital admission date, in her comments to The Indianapolis Star.
Morical stated that “Physicians are allowed to speak with the media.”
Indiana University Health where Bernard is an OB/GYN investigated the matter last year. It found that Bernard complied with privacy laws.
Bernard sent Rokita an cease and desist letter, asking him to stop “making false or misleading statements about her”.
Bernard’s story has received a lot of attention, as it elicited strong responses from politicians on both sides.
“Ten Years Old” Raped, six weeks pregnant. Traumatized. I was forced to move to another state. Imagine yourself as that little girl,” said President Joe Biden at a July news conference when he signed a executive order to protect abortion access. The order also included protections for people who travel between states that ban abortion and those where it is legal.
In July, some Republican leaders, such as Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Fox News commentator Jesse Watters, made false claims that Bernard had fabricated her story about the young patient.
A man from Ohio, Gerson Fentes, was accused of raping a 10-year-old girl in July. In the same month, a detective stated the girl had an abortion on June 30, in Indianapolis.
The relationship between Fuentes and the girl before the alleged rape has not been revealed. Bernard told the hearing on Thursday that her Ohio colleague had told her about two possible suspects.
Contributed by Associated Press
