The case of the 10-year-old Ohio girl who was impregnated by her rapist and forced to travel to Indiana after her state passed a strict abortion law got national attention. Conservatives cast doubt as to the credibility of the story and even if the girl existed at all. Conservatives panicked, trying to justify Ohio’s strict abortion ban.
On Thursday, Indiana’s medical board found that the doctor who spoke publicly about providing an abortion for the young victim violated privacy rules and imposed a fine.
Via NBC News:
The Indiana Medical Licensing Board voted to fine Dr. Caitlin Bernard $3,000 and issue a letter of reprimand — but did not suspend her license as the Indiana attorney general’s office sought.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, had accused Bernard of failing to report child abuse and violating patient privacy by speaking to a reporter about the young girl’s case. In a written complaint in November, Rokita asked the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to impose a disciplinary action on Bernard accordingly.
In July, The Indianapolis Star reported that Bernard had taken a call from a doctor regarding a suspected case of child abuse involving a 10-year-old girl from Ohio. The child was just over six weeks pregnant. Ohio prohibits abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, under a law that was enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
I’m starting to see a pattern here of Republicans punishing women. The doctor wasn’t stripped of her license, but she had to fight to keep it.
