Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita asked the state Medical Licensing Board on Wednesday to discipline an abortionist who he says exploited a traumatized 10-year-old rape victim to promote her pro-abortion agenda.
KXXV News 25 reports Rokita accused abortionist Caitlin Bernard of violating her “legal and Hippocratic responsibilities” when she told a newspaper about performing an abortion on the 10-year-old from Ohio.
“Based on the physician’s own testimony under oath, she violated federal and Indiana law related to patient privacy and the reporting of child abuse,” the attorney general said.
In a complaint to the licensing board, he asked for “appropriate disciplinary action” against Bernard for “exploiting a 10-year-old little girl’s traumatic medical story to the press for her own interests,” the AP reports.
Allegedly, Bernard failed to immediately report the child abuse to Indiana authorities, as state law requires. She also neglected to respect her patient’s privacy when she told The Indianapolis Star about the girl after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the Ohio heartbeat law went into effect, according to the attorney general’s office.
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If Bernard had followed the law, Rokita said Indiana authorities potentially may have been able to protect the little girl from further abuse. In July, authorities arrested a 27-year-old Columbus, Ohio man and charged him with raping the girl.
Bernard has denied any wrong-doing, saying she did not mention her young patient’s name and the abuse already had been reported to Ohio authorities.
But the attorney general said she still had a duty to report the abuse immediately, and simply concealing the girl’s name was not enough to protect her privacy.
“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.
Here is Rokita’s full statement:
“Today, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General filed an Administrative Action against Dr. Caitlin Bernard before the Indiana Medical Licensing Board. Based on the physician’s own testimony under oath, she violated federal and Indiana law related to patient privacy and the reporting of child abuse.
First, the physician failed to uphold legal and Hippocratic responsibilities by exploiting a 10-year-old little girl’s traumatic medical story to the press for her own interests. The Hippocratic oath provides, in part: “I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know.” 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. Simply concealing the patient’s name falls far short of her legal and ethical duties here.
Second, she failed to immediately report the abuse and rape of a child to Indiana authorities. This is required under Indiana law. Here, only Indiana authorities could have possibly stopped this little girl from being sent home to endure possible future harm by her alleged rapist.
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.
As the Office of the Attorney General, it is our duty to ensure that doctors meet the standard of care. In our opinion, Dr. Bernard fell short in this situation. Now, it is up to the Medical Licensing Board to determine whether there are consequences for violating a patient’s privacy rights and the obligation to immediately report child abuse to Indiana authorities.”
Currently, Bernard is fighting in court to block Rokita’s request for medical records in his investigation of the case. Last week, the attorney general said none of this would be happening if Bernard had not used the 10-year-old victim to promote her political agenda.
“As the Office of the Attorney General, it is our duty to ensure that doctors meet the standard of care. In our opinion, Dr. Bernard fell short in this situation,” he said Wednesday. “Now, it is up to the Medical Licensing Board to determine whether there are consequences for violating a patient’s privacy rights and the obligation to immediately report child abuse to Indiana authorities.”
This is not the first time Bernard has been accused of failing to properly report a potential rape case involving a minor girl. As LifeNews reported in 2018, she and eight other abortion practitioners allegedly failed to file abuse reports in 48 cases involving girls as young as 12 years old.
According to information Indiana Right to Life provided LifeNews, some of the girls who had abortions that were not reported to the Indiana Department of Child Services were as young as 12 and 13. The alleged 48 instances occurred since July 1, 2017. Complaints were filed with former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and the Indiana State Department of Health. The Marion, Lake, Tippecanoe and Monroe county prosecutors also were notified.
Two members of Congress, including Rokita who was in the U.S. House at the time, called for investigations. However, after the accusations were made, nothing ever came of them.
Indiana law requires mandatory reporting of abortions on girls under 16 to the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Child Services within three days of the abortion so that authorities can investigate potential child sex abuse.
