Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed an administrative complaint with Indiana's Medical Licensing Board in an effort to punish Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim.
Photo courtesy of Indiana Attorney General's office.
Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has brought an administrative action against Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim.
Rokita claims Bernard "violated federal and Indiana law related to patient privacy and the reporting of child abuse." He filed the administrative action against Dr. Bernard with Indiana's Medical Licensing Board.
Bernard filed a termination of pregnancy report and also alerted the state government that the 10-year-old had suffered abuse, according to the Indianapolis Star.
"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," Rokita said in a statement.
Bernard provided the abortion to the young rape victim, who was forced to travel to Indiana for the medical procedure when Ohio enacted a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Kathleen Delaney, Bernard's attorney, said the attorney general's attempt to punish Bernard was "a last-ditch effort to intimidate Dr. Bernard and other providers of abortion care."
Bernard filed a lawsuit in November against the Indiana attorney general for using "meritless" complaints to justify subpoenas for medical records in the case.
This case drew national attention in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade.
Rokita said in his statement, "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."
Indiana's medical licensing board will determine how to handle Rokita's administrative action against Bernard.