Indiana Doctor Who Helped 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Get Abortion Sues State AG Over ‘Sham Investigation’

Topline

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the doctor who helped a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio obtain an abortion, sued Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita Thursday for opening an investigation into her, accusing him of “unlawfully harass[ing] physicians and patients who are engaged in completely legal conduct” and issuing subpoenas based on frivolous complaints.

Doctor Caitlin Bernard in Indianapolis on Sept. 28.

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Key Facts

Bernard sued Rokita in state court, alleging he violated state laws that bar the attorney general from acting on “frivolous” consumer complaints, instead requiring such complaints to have “merit” and be based on personal knowledge or experience with the subject of the complaint.

Rokita opened an investigation into Bernard in July based on complaints that did not meet that criteria, the lawsuit alleges, pointing to complaints that were based solely on news reports about Bernard, and, in some cases, were not even made by Indiana residents.

The AG nevertheless issued subpoenas for patients’ medical records based on those complaints, Bernard alleges, continuing to investigate whether the physician properly complied with Indiana law despite her submitting documentation to the state showing she had.

Rokita also opened an investigation into Dr. Amy Caldwell, Bernard’s medical partner, based on other allegedly deficient complaints about her, the lawsuit says.

The subpoenas “[pose] a significant threat to patient privacy and the confidentiality of medical records,” the lawsuit alleges, and threaten the physicians’ livelihoods and the services they can provide to their patients.

Rokita’s office “investigate[s] thousands of potential licensing, privacy, and other violations a year,” the AG’s press secretary Kelly Stevenson said in a statement to Forbes, arguing a “majority of the complaints we receive are, in fact, from nonpatients” like those who submitted complaints about Bernard.

Crucial Quote

“The Attorney General’s and Director’s improper conduct dissuades patients who need emergency abortions from seeking care,” the lawsuit argues. “It also threatens patients seeking legal abortions that their most personal and private medical records and health care decisions could be exposed as part of a meritless investigation.”

Chief Critic

“Any investigations that arise as a result of potential violations are handled in a uniform manner and narrowly focused,” Stevenson said in a statement. “We will discuss this particular matter further through the judicial filings we make.”

What To Watch For

The lawsuit asks the court to block Rokita from issuing any further subpoenas or launching investigations based on meritless complaints, as well as taking any steps that violate confidentiality rules around those complaints, arguing the AG “will continue to initiate sham investigations of Plaintiffs unless enjoined by the Court.”

Key Background

Bernard drew controversy over the summer after telling the Indianapolis Star she helped the 10-year-old rape victim obtain an abortion in Indiana because the child was denied one in her home state of Ohio, which bans virtually all abortions after six weeks. The story quickly gained national attention in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, with even President Joe Biden saying he “can’t think of anything as much more extreme” than the child being forced to give birth. The attention led Rokita to announce on Fox News he was investigating Bernard and whether she complied with state laws requiring physicians to report abortions performed for patients under age 16 and child abuse, despite public records showing she did comply with those laws. Bernard had suggested she was planning to eventually take legal action against Rokita—though for defamation and not for violating consumer complaint laws—filing a tort claim notice in July that served as a precursor to a defamation lawsuit if the state didn’t settle the case first within 90 days.

Tangent

Abortion in Indiana is currently legal even though the state enacted a near-total ban on the procedure that took effect September 15, as the law was blocked in court as litigation against it moves forward.