Global Courant 2023-05-26 09:11:23
The Indiana Medical Board found on Thursday that a doctor who spoke publicly about aborting a 10-year-old rape victim violated privacy rules and imposed a fine.
The Indiana Medical Licensing Board voted to fine Dr. Caitlin Bernard of $3,000 and a letter of reprimand — but did not suspend her license, as the Indiana Attorney General’s office requested.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, had accused Bernard of failing to report child abuse and violating patient privacy by talking to a reporter about the young girl’s case. In a written complaint in November, Rokita asked the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to discipline Bernard accordingly.
In July, The Indianapolis Star reported that Bernard had taken a call from a doctor about a suspected child abuse case involving the 10-year-old girl from Ohio. The child was just over six weeks pregnant. Ohio bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, under a law enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The girl went to Indiana to receive care from Bernard, the Star reported, where abortion was legal at the time. Since then, Indiana has passed a near-total ban on abortion, though a judge subsequently put the law on hold.
The licensing authority ruled that the state complied with its burden on three counts, which relate to privacy, but rejected two others related to reporting child abuse and being unfit to practice.
The chairman of the licensing board, Dr. John Strobel, called Bernard “a good doctor.” The hearing lasted all day, more than 14 hours, and into Thursday evening.
“I’m sure Dr. Bernard has learned a lot about privacy,” Strobel said.
Cory Voight, director of complex litigation for the Indiana state attorney general’s office, told the licensing agency Thursday that Bernard violated state law by failing to maintain patient confidentiality and not report the case to law enforcement of Indiana and the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Voight added that Bernard also violated HIPAA, a law that prohibits medical professionals from disclosing a patient’s sensitive health information without their consent or knowledge.
“This is not a typical hearing. There has not been a case like this before the Board. No physician has been so bold in pursuing his own agenda,” Voight said in the opening statement.
But Bernard’s attorney, Alice Morical, said Bernard reported child abuse in a manner consistent with Indiana law, as she had informed a social worker at her university about the 10-year-old patient. As for HIPAA, Morical added, Bernard did not break the law because her comments to The Indianapolis Star did not contain any identifying information, such as a patient’s name, date of birth or date of hospitalization.
“Doctors can talk to the media,” Morical said.
Indiana University Health, where Bernard works as an obstetrician, investigated the matter last year and found that Bernard had complied with patient privacy laws.
Bernard sent Rokita one cancellation letter in July asked him to stop making “false or misleading statements” about her.
“If Attorney General Todd Rokita hadn’t chosen to make this his political stunt, we wouldn’t be here today,” Bernard said at Thursday’s hearing.
Bernard’s case has received a lot of publicity, as her story about the young girl drew strong backlash from political figures on both sides of the aisle.
“Ten years old. Raped, six weeks pregnant. Traumatized already. Was forced to travel to another state. Imagine being that little girl,” said President Joe Biden. said at a press conference in July when he signed an executive order to ensure access to abortion. The order included protections for those traveling from a state that bans abortion to one where the service is legal.
Some Republican leaders, including Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, falsely suggested in July that Bernard had fabricated her young patient’s story, as did Fox News commentator Jesse Watters and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“I was surprised that people think that unfortunately young girls don’t get raped and get pregnant very often,” Bernard said Thursday. “The idea that this was something someone would make up or was a lie, or something that isn’t happening was very surprising to me.”
An Ohio man, Gerson Fuentes, was charged with the rape of 10-year-old girl and a detective in July testified that month that the girl had an abortion on June 30 in Indianapolis.
It has not been made public what Fuentes’ relationship was with the girl prior to the alleged rape. Bernard said Thursday her colleague in Ohio had told her the girl’s two brothers and her mother’s boyfriend were possible suspects.
In a statement following the medical board’s decision, Rokita’s office said, “This case was about patient privacy and trust between the doctor and patient that had been violated.”
A lawyer for Bernard did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on Thursday evening.
Strobel, the president of the medical licensure board, said toward the end of Thursday’s hearing that the easiest remedy is to get clearance.
“You get permission, and then you can talk about it, and you can make some very good points and educate the public,” he said.
