Indiana's Medical Licensing Board voted to reprimand and fine a doctor $3,000 for speaking publicly after providing an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard was disciplined by the board for discussing the abortion with the Indianapolis Star newspaper just days after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the Washington Examiner.
In November, Indiana's Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita had asked the state board to discipline Bernard for speaking publicly about the girl's abortion. The 10-year-old had traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect.
The complaint alleged that Bernard violated state law by not reporting the girl's child abuse to Indiana authorities and violated patient privacy laws by telling a newspaper reporter about the girl's treatment, according to The Associated Press.
Bernard and her lawyers have maintained the girl's abuse had already been reported to Ohio police and child protective services officials before the doctor ever saw the child. A 27-year-old man was charged in Columbus, Ohio, with raping the girl.
The Examiner noted that Bernard has denied the claims in the complaint.
"I think that it's incredibly important for people to understand the real-world impacts of the laws of this country, about abortion or otherwise," Bernard said during a hearing on Thursday in Indianapolis, according to NPR.
"I think it's important for people to know what patients will have to go through because of legislation that is being passed."
But Cory Voight, a lawyer with Indiana's attorney general office, told the board he suspected Bernard had spoken out in an effort to "further her own agenda."
"To be sure, she was initially praised for it," Voight said. "She talked with the vice president of the United States, who commended her for speaking out. The president of the United States mentioned the matter when signing an executive order. She did subsequent media ... in furtherance of her own agenda."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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