An attorney for an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indiana has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the state’s Republican attorney general who threatened to bring criminal charges against her following a report that she provided care to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
Dr Caitlin Bernard reportedly provided care to the girl a week after Ohio officials – hours after the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade – enacted a measure that outlaws abortion care at roughly six weeks of pregnancy and makes no exception for pregnancies from rape or incest.
After casting doubt about the veracity of the case, Republican officials and right-wing media have pivoted to attacking Dr Bernard’s legitimacy and baselessly accusing her of failing to notify law enforcement about the case.
On Fox News this week, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita dismissed Dr Bernard as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor” and alleged, without evidence, that “from what we can find out so far, this Indiana abortion doctor has covered this up.”
His letter to Republican Governor Eric Holcomb also claims that Dr Bernard could face “criminal prosecution and licensing repercussions.”
A letter from her attorney on 15 July said his remarks “cast Dr Bernard in a false light and allege misconduct in her profession”.
Despite evidence presented through public records requests and a review from Indiana University Health, her employer, that confirms Dr Bernard complied with all applicable reporting laws, Mr Rokita’s subsequent statements “further cast Dr Bernard in a false light and mislead consumers and patients,” according to the letter.
“We are especially concerned that, given the controversial political context of the statements, such inflammatory accusations have the potential to incite harassment or violence” that would prevent Dr Bernard from providing safe care to her patients, the letter states.
Attorney Kathleen Delaney said the attorney general’s statements alleging misconduct could constitutute defamation, adding that his statements that extend beyond the scope of his authority could form “the basis of an actionable defamation claim.”
On 13 July, 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes was charged with raping the girl.
Police in Columbus, Ohio were alerted to a referral from Franklin County Children Services made by the girl’s mother on 22 June, according to testimony during Fuentes’ arraignment. On June 30, the girl received an abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dr Bernard “unequivocally reported this incident to the proper authorities within the time frame” as mandated by state law, Ms Delaney told MSNBC’s Deadline White House on Friday.
“If Mr Rokita had done his homework, he would have known that, before he went on Fox News and falsely accused her of making a false report,” she said.
His remarks are “inciting people” and “throwing mud ... in a very politically charged scene” as Indiana’s state legislature prepares to convene in the coming days to consider new anti-abortion legislation, now that the Supreme Court revoked constitutional protections for care, leaving such laws up to individual states.
“We’re very concerned that he’s being extremely irresponsible with his communication and could prompt someone to do something illegal or do something horrible,” she said.
