Indiana physician met reporting requirements in controversial Ohio abortion case
Dr. Caitlin Bernard met the Indiana legal requirement for timely filing of a Termination of Pregnancy Report after providing an abortion to a 10-year-old from Ohio, Indiana Department of Health records indicate.
The Indianapolis OB/GYN has been under fire from Attorney General Todd Rokita, who questioned whether she had complied with state law requiring physicians to report an abortion performed on a person under age 16 within three days.
On Wednesday, Rokita wrote to Gov. Eric Holcomb, saying that he had been unable to obtain the report for this case from the Department of Health. Rokita asked Holcomb to intervene.
Also on Wednesday, Rokita criticized Bernard as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor.” Bernard is a fellowship-trained OB/GYN and assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Rokita, in a television interview, made clear his intent to prosecute if there was a failure in protocol. His interview has since been removed from public view on the Fox News YouTube channel.
A Termination of Pregnancy Report obtained form the Health Department on Thursday by multiple news outlets indicates Bernard provided the abortion on June 30 and filed the report on July 1.
The 10-year-old had been brought to Indiana for an abortion because she was slightly more than six weeks pregnant.
Abortions are banned in Ohio after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is about six weeks into pregnancy. The ban does not include an exception for rape, but does include exceptions for pregnancies that endanger the mother’s life or risk serious loss of bodily function.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who faced criticism last week for casting doubt on the girl’s story, issued an explainer on the state’s new abortion ban.
A suspect was arrested Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, and faces charges related to rape. By law, sexual conduct with a person under age 13 is rape in Ohio.
The Indiana Democratic Party criticized Rokita’s investigation of the physician in a statement on Twitter:
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Mahoning Matters staff contributed to this report.