Indiana medical board sets doctor’s hearing in abortion case

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s medical licensing board subsequent month will hear a case concerning the Indianapolis physician who this previous summer season offered an abortion to a 10-year-old rape sufferer from Ohio.

The Feb. 23 listening to is step one in figuring out the medical license standing of Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist whom the Indiana lawyer normal claimed violated privateness legal guidelines after Bernard spoke to an Indianapolis newspaper in regards to the Ohio woman’s therapy.

Attorneys for Bernard said the physician adopted Indiana’s abortion and little one abuse reporting necessities whereas the kid’s case was being investigated by Ohio authorities, court docket paperwork from December present.

The case drew nationwide consideration within the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade final June. A 27-year-old man was later charged in Columbus, Ohio, with raping the woman.

After the newspaper cited that case in a July 1 article about sufferers heading to Indiana for abortions due to extra restrictive legal guidelines elsewhere, Indiana Legal professional Normal Todd Rokita advised Fox Information he would examine Bernard’s actions, calling her an “abortion activist performing as a physician.”

Bernard filed a lawsuit in opposition to Rokita in November, when she argued Rokita’s workplace was wrongly justifying the investigation with “frivolous” client complaints submitted by folks with no private data in regards to the woman’s abortion.

Marion County Choose Heather Welch dominated final month in that case that Rokita might proceed investigating Bernard after his workplace requested the state medical licensing board self-discipline Bernard. However Welch additionally stated Rokita wrongly made public feedback about investigating Bernard earlier than he filed that criticism with the board.

Bernard’s lawyer and Rokita didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.