Indiana AG's latest salvo against the doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim
Todd Rokita files a complaint against Dr. Caitlin Bernard
Five months after this all began, AG Rokita continues to go after Dr. Bernard
Indiana’s attorney general is asking the state’s medical licensing board to take disciplinary action against Dr. Bernard, who came to national prominence after speaking publicly about providing a medication abortion to a 10-year-old girl who was unable to get an abortion in Ohio.
I went on the NewsNation show “Dan Abrams Live” last night to talk about it.
Here’s a quick update:
In a new complaint, Rokita accuses Dr. Bernard of violating privacy laws and failing to properly report child abuse.
Bernard’s attorney says she complied with all reporting requirements and called the move “a last-ditch effort to intimidate” Bernard and other abortion providers.
This is a new tactic, but not a new effort
This all started on July 1 when Dr. Bernard went public with the girl’s story. As I’ve reported for NPR, the young patient was unable to get an abortion in Ohio after a ban without exceptions for rape or incest took effect in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Association decision on June 24. Rokita’s office has accused Bernard of using the girl’s story to “to push her ideological stance” on abortion rights.
Here’s a brief recap:
Prominent conservatives expressed skepticism about the story until a 27-year-old man was charged with the child’s rape in Ohio in mid-July.
Rokita then suggested that Dr. Bernard had a history of failing to properly report abortions to state health officials and promised to investigate her.
Within days, the state of Indiana produced records proving Bernard had reported the procedure on time.
In a sit-down with me for NPR in late July, Bernard told me she’d faced harassment and threats.
Bernard sued Rokita in early November in an effort to block him from accessing her patients’ medical records. She says he’s been issuing subpoenas for private records based on complaints from people who were never her patients, and who mostly reside out of state.
It’s not clear what kind of disciplinary action Rokita is seeking against Dr. Bernard - that’s not specified in the complaint. But this is clearly not over yet.
A decision is expected soon in Bernard’s lawsuit seeking to block Rokita from accessing patient records. Bernard also has threatened to sue him for defamation. Her lawyer says that option is still on the table.
And now just for fun…
The background you see behind me on TV:
Versus what my living room really looked like:
And coming very soon…
I’m excited to sit in for Scott Simon this coming Saturday on Weekend Edition!
It is always a joy to be back in the host chair. We’re busy this week preparing some fascinating segments I’m very excited about, so I hope you’ll listen in on your NPR station.
It's just disgusting what the Indiana AG is doing to this doctor. What a world!
Anyway, it was great seeing you, Sarah, and I'm really looking forward to Weekend Edition Saturday ... always a must listen, but even more so when you're hosting! 😍