Indiana reprimands doctor who spoke publicly about abortion of 10-year-old girl: NPR

Tracey Wilkinson (left), a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, and Caroline E. Rouse, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at IU School of Medicine, stand in line outside a lecture hall to support Caitlin Bernard during Thursday’s hearing.

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Tracey Wilkinson (left), a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, and Caroline E. Rouse, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at IU School of Medicine, stand in line outside a lecture hall to support Caitlin Bernard during Thursday’s hearing.

Mykal McEldowney/AP

A state medical board reprimands an Indiana doctor who came to national attention after speaking publicly about the abortion of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim.

Dr. Caitlin Bernard was summoned to appear before Indiana’s Medical Licensing Board after the state’s Republican attorney general filed a complaint. A majority of board members concluded that she violated privacy laws by speaking out about the case and voted to fine her $3,000 in addition to the reprimand.

During Thursday’s hearing, Bernard said she spoke about the case to educate the public about the impact of state abortion laws in the United States, triggered by the Supreme Court ruling. canceling Roe vs. Wade last June.

Caitlin Bernard raises her right hand as she takes the oath during Thursday’s hearing before the state medical board in Indianapolis.

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Caitlin Bernard raises her right hand as she takes the oath during Thursday’s hearing before the state medical board in Indianapolis.

Mykal McEldowney/AP

“I think it’s extremely important that people understand the real impacts of the laws of this country, abortion or otherwise,” Bernard said at a day-long hearing Thursday in Indianapolis. “I think it’s important for people to know what patients will be going through because of the legislation that’s being passed.”

The hearing came months after Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who opposes abortion rights, began criticizing Bernard for speaking openly about providing the girl with a medical abortion. , who traveled to Indiana from Ohio after her state’s abortion ban went into effect last summer. Ohio law makes no exceptions for rape or incest.

Bernard spoke to a Indianapolis Star reporter for an article published days after the Supreme Court ruling overturned decades of abortion rights precedent.

In response, Rokita publicly criticized Bernard, suggesting that she had failed to properly report the abortion as required by Indiana law. State health officials later produced documents refuting that claim. Rokita then began investigating Bernard and eventually filed the complaint with the state’s Medical Licensing Board, accusing him of failing to report the girl’s sexual assault to Indiana officials and of having violated patient privacy laws with his public comments.

At the hearing, council members voted to dismiss one count that she violated patient privacy laws and another that declared her unfit to practice medicine.

Cory Voight, an attorney in Rokita’s office, told the board on Thursday that he believed Bernard spoke out to “advance his own agenda.”

“Granted, she was initially praised for that,” Voight said. “She spoke with the Vice President of the United States, who congratulated her for speaking up. The President of the United States mentioned the issue during the signing of an executive order. She then communicated with the media … as part of its own program.”

During hours of testimony, Bernard and her attorney told board members that she did not release any protected patient information and worked with hospital staff to ensure the case made the right decision. subject to proper investigation by law enforcement.

“Doctors can talk to the media,” Bernard’s lawyer, Alice Morical, told the council. “The issue here and what is being charged is that … Dr. Bernard shared protected health information. And the evidence will show that she did not share protected health information or violate the privacy policy of the Indiana.”

The board also heard from several witnesses, including hospital staff from the Indiana University Health System. Social worker Stephanie Shook testified that Bernard worked with her to follow the health system’s reporting procedures for victims of abuse. Shook said there was “no doubt” in his mind that Bernard knew hospital officials were in communication with authorities in Ohio.

A review last year by Indiana University Health, which employs Bernard, found it had complied with patient privacy laws.

This week, The Indianapolis Star reported that two of the seven council members had contributed to Rokita’s campaigns. Rokita did not attend the hearing. But throughout the day he tweeted highlights from the hearing, which were streamed online.

Abortion remains legal in Indiana, for now. Indiana Republican Governor Eric Holcomb signed a near-total abortion ban last August, but that law is currently on hold pending the outcome of a legal challenge in the state Supreme Court.