Indiana prosecutor seeks to punish physician in 10-year-old’s abortion case By Reuters

By Gabriella Borter

(Reuters) – Indiana’s lawyer normal on Wednesday requested the state’s medical board to self-discipline an Indiana physician who carried out an abortion on a 10-year-old rape sufferer from Ohio in a case that turned a flashpoint within the debate over entry to the process.

Indiana Lawyer Basic Todd Rokita, a Republican, accused Dr. Caitlin Bernard of “violating a affected person’s privateness rights” and the duty to right away report little one abuse to Indiana authorities.

Rokita has been investigating whether or not Dr. Bernard adopted state regulation requiring medical doctors to report abortions, regardless that public information confirmed Dr. Bernard promptly reported the abortion as required.

His workplace requested the state’s medical licensing board to find out the suitable penalty for Dr. Bernard, starting from a letter of reprimand to everlasting revocation of her medical license.

Kathleen DeLaney, Dr. Bernard’s lawyer, stated in a press release on Wednesday that her consumer had complied with all reporting necessities and had mentioned the woman’s case “throughout the bounds of relevant privateness legal guidelines.”

“The Administrative Motion filed as we speak by Mr. Rokita is clearly a last-ditch effort to intimidate Dr. Bernard and different suppliers of abortion care,” DeLaney stated.

The physician has stated the kid was referred to her for an abortion simply three days after the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that had assured federal abortion rights.

Ohio was among the many states that rapidly enforced strict limits on abortion within the wake of the June ruling, generally with out exceptions for instances of rape or incest.

The lawyer normal isn’t questioning whether or not the woman met the Indiana statutory requirement that she be not more than 22 weeks pregnant. When Dr. Bernard realized of the state of affairs, the woman was three days previous the six-week restrict in Ohio.

Information of the 10-year-old’s case launched a bitter authorized battle between Dr. Bernard and Rokita.

Dr. Bernard and her medical associate sued Rokita earlier this month, demanding an finish to investigations searching for medical information about sufferers and their abortions. The lawsuit accused Rokita’s investigation of being a “sham” and stated it violated necessities that investigations be primarily based on advantage, narrowly targeted and stored confidential.

Dr. Bernard’s swimsuit stated the subpoenas she had obtained from the lawyer normal had been primarily based on complaints from individuals who had solely heard of the case on the information and repeated the false declare that Dr. Bernard did not submit a report.

(This story has been corrected to say weeks, as an alternative of months, in paragraph 9)