The attorney general of Indiana announced on Thursday that he was looking into whether the Indiana doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim complied with state regulations requiring doctors to report pregnancy terminations and possible child abuse cases.
Abortion related probe
Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana warned Doctor Caitlin Bernard that she could face “criminal prosecution and licensure implications” if she didn’t submit the required reports on time. He issued a statement that was published online along with a letter to the governor of Indiana.
Rokita continued by saying that he would also check to see if the Doctor had broken any federal patient privacy regulations.
The Indianapolis Star newspaper reported it had obtained documents through public records request showing Bernard had, in fact, complied with the disclosure requirements in a form she filed with the Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Child Services, making the warning, however, appear to be a hollow threat.
Claims against the doctor
Kathleen Delaney, Bernard’s attorney, was also quoted by the newspaper as claiming that her client did all appropriate and proper action. The Indianapolis Star first reported on the story of the 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and she fled to Indiana to get an abortion. It is because of a state law in Ohio that forbade the procedure at six weeks of pregnancy, when many women aren’t even aware they are pregnant, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
When the Ohio girl left her home state to have her pregnancy terminated, she was three days past Ohio’s six-week limit. The Roe v. Wade ruling, which established a constitutional right to an abortion to end a pregnancy, was overturned by the Supreme Court on June 24. Hours later, the Ohio prohibition went into effect.