Doctor who performed abortion to 10-year-old rape victim to sue Indiana AG

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The doctor who gave abortion services to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim moved to file a defamation lawsuit against Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
• Ohio currently has a law in place that bans abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.
• “Mr. Rokita’s statements that Dr. Bernard was an ‘abortion activist acting as a doctor’ with a ‘history of failing to report’ were false,” the lawsuit states.

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the Indianapolis OB-GYN who provided an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio, took the first legal step to sue Indiana’s attorney general for defamation.

After news of the child having an abortion broke, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told Fox News that Bernard has a “history of failing to report” abortions to the state, as required by law. Bernard’s attorneys states in the lawsuit that the OB-GYN has no disciplinary history.

Doctors are obliged to report when an abortion has been performed under Indiana law.

“Mr. Rokita’s statements that Dr. Bernard was an ‘abortion activist acting as a doctor’ with a ‘history of failing to report’ were false,” the lawsuit says.

“Mr. Rokita either knew the statements were false or acted with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the statements. Mr. Rokita recklessly and/or negligently failed to ascertain whether the statements about Dr. Bernard’s licensure were true or false before making them.”

The lawsuit alleges that Rokita’s comments “were intended to heighten public condemnation of Dr. Bernard, who legally provided legitimate medical care.”

Bernard’s employer, IU Health, conducted an investigation on the issue and found that she was in compliance with Indiana law, according to Bernard’s attorney.

The Ohio girl’s story — being raped, impregnated, and unable to get an abortion in her home state because of its abortion ban — made headlines around the world.

In President Joe Biden’s speech last week, he used it as an example of the consequences of restrictive abortion laws.

Currently, Ohio has a law in place that bans abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. Ohio’s so-called fetal heartbeat law took effect last month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Such laws ban abortions from the time a fetus’ heartbeat can be detected, which is typically around the sixth week of pregnancy.

Source: NBC News