Dr. Caitlin Bernard, left, sits between attorneys John Hoover and Alice Morical on Thursday, May 25, 2023, before a hearing in front of the state medical board at the Indiana Government South building in downtown Indianapolis.
Bernard is appearing before the board for the final hearing in a complaint filed by Attorney General Todd Rokita saying she violated patient privacy laws and reporting laws.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A hearing on possible disciplinary action opened Thursday for an Indianapolis doctor who spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio, with finger pointing over how the case became a political flashpoint in the national abortion debate.
Indiana’s Republican attorney general has accused Dr. Caitlin Bernard of violating state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities.
Bernard and her attorneys maintain that the doctor followed Indiana’s child abuse reporting requirements to hospital staff and that the girl’s rape was already being investigated by Ohio authorities.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s complaint asked the licensing board to impose “appropriate disciplinary action” but doesn’t specify a requested penalty.
Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature approved a statewide abortion ban weeks after the Ohio girl’s case drew attention, but abortions have continued to be permitted in the state while awaiting an Indiana Supreme Court decision on the ban’s constitutionality . »
