The Indiana Medical Licensing Board decided to reprimand and fine Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard after ruling she violated patient privacy laws by publicizing about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
The board voted to issue the abortion provider a letter of reprimand and a $3,000 fine. However, it refused a request from Indiana attorney-general Todd Rokita to have Bernard's license suspended, dismissing Rokita's allegations that the physician violated state law by not reporting the rape case to Indiana authorities.
Hearing triggered by Roe v. Wade overturning
The board heard the procedure for the Ohio girl was done in Indiana after the US Supreme Court overturned its ruling on Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.
Due to the reversal, Ohio passed a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Bernard told the hearing that the girl was over six weeks pregnant by the time the law passed and had to travel to Indiana to have the procedure as the state still allowed abortions to be performed up to 20 weeks after fertilization.
Rokita submitted to the state medical board a complaint against Bernard in December.
State officials told the board that Bernard was an "abortion activist" who shared about the procedure with the media without requesting permission from the girl's family first.
Meanwhile, Bernard and her colleague Dr. Amy Caldwell filed a lawsuit against Rokita to prevent his office from accessing the medical records of their patients and investigating abortion providers. However, a judge declined their petition, saying the matter should be deferred to Indiana's medical board.
Bernard: Rokita politicized the case
The matter also resulted in an investigation across the border in Ohio, where 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes was charged with the rape of the 10-year-old girl.
Speaking at the board hearing, Bernard said she complied with the investigation by having her patient hospitalized to ensure the fetal remains could be collected and submitted as evidence. She also told the board she properly reported the child abuse case to Ohio authorities in line with her hospital's guidelines.
She also criticized Rokita and politicians from both Indiana and Ohio for politicizing the case.
"I don't think that anyone would have been looking into this story as any different than any other interview that I have ever given if it was not politicized the way that it was by public figures in our state and in Ohio," she said.
Bernard emphasized the importance of understanding the real-life impacts of the laws that were passed and court rulings that were deliberated in order to prevent a similar case from happening again in the future.
