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An Indiana doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim is considering suing the state’s Attorney General who threatened her with legal action.
Dr Caitlin Bernard helped the child obtain the abortion after reporting the procedure to relevant state agencies before the legally mandated deadline.
But motormouth Indiana AG Todd Rokita questioned whether she had reported the procedure to state officials, bragging that he was ‘gathering evidence’ to see if the doctor could face ‘a criminal charge’
Documents obtained by the Washington Post have revealed that Dr Bernard did report the minor’s abortion before she was legally mandated to do so.
She added: ‘My client, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, took every appropriate and proper action in accordance with the law and both her medical and ethical training as a physician.
‘She followed all relevant policies, procedures, and regulations in this case, just as she does every day to provide the best possible care for her patients.’
In a statement Kathleen DeLaney, the doctors attorney, confirmed that Dr Bernard is ‘considering legal action against those who have smeared [her], including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.’
During an interview with Fox News, Rokita said: ‘We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end — including looking at her licensure, if she failed to report, in Indiana it’s a crime to intentionally not report.
He first raised his doubts in a letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, saying that his office had requested, but not received, documentation from state agencies.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita says an investigation has been launched into Dr. Caitlin Bernard. She performed an abortion on the unidentified 10-year-old rape victim whose story made headlines when she was forced to travel from her home state to Indiana
Dr Caitlin Bernard helped the rape victim obtain an abortion, and has now said she is ‘considering legal action’ against those who have ‘smeared her’. Her attorney has also stated that her considerations include AG Rokita
In his interview with Fox News, Rokita ranted: ‘First of all this is an illegal immigration issue likely because of Biden’s lawlessness at the border and everything going on down there.
‘Which is why Indiana as a non boarder state has filed several independent lawsuits on that.
‘Then we have the rape, then we have this abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report.’
Officials with Indiana University Health said in a statement that Bernard did not violate any privacy laws when she shared an anecdote with the media about the 10-year-old rape victim needing an abortion in Indiana.
They added: ‘As part of IU Health’s commitment to patient privacy and compliance with privacy laws, IU Health routinely initiates reviews, including the matters in the news concerning Dr. Caitlin Bernard.
‘IU Health conducted an investigation with the full cooperation of Dr. Bernard and other IU Health team members.
‘IU Health’s investigation found Dr. Bernard in compliance with privacy laws.’
In Indiana, abortion is legal up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy and under the state’s laws those who provide the procedure are required to report them within 30 days.
Ohio is one of the many states set to impose laws, which would cap abortions at six weeks and do not have exceptions for rape or incest. Also in the state of Ohio, doctors are mandated to report abuse of minors
The mother (pictured hiding behind her front door) of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and impregnated by an illegal immigrant has denied the charges against Gerson Fuentes (not pictured). She claims her daughter is ‘fine’ and Fuentes is the subject of ‘lies’
Any patients who are younger than 16 the reporting window is cut down to three days, and doctors must alert both Indiana’s department of health and department of child services.
This is a way for authorities to launch investigations into possible child abuse cases.
The rape victim, a 10-year-old girl from Ohio, was attacked by illegal immigrant Gerson Fuentes, 27, who has admitted the crime.
But the mother of the child has sensationally denied the charges, claiming that her daughter is ‘fine’ after being forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion.
In an interview with Noticias the girls mother claimed that ‘everything they’re saying against him is a lie.’
Fuentes was arraigned on Wednesday in Columbus, where he faces a charge of felony first-degree rape of a child under 13 with his bail was set at $2 million.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, (pictured) was arrested on July 12 and has been charged with one count of rape after police say he confessed to raping the child two different times
The woman reportedly said she has not filed charges against Fuentes, even though he was charged with rape after confessing to having ‘vaginal contact’ with the girl on at least two occasions.
The girl recently celebrated her 10th birthday, leaving investigators to suspect she was only nine years old when she was raped and later became pregnant.
Her case was first reported on July 1, a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and gained international attention.
The victim was forced to travel to Indiana for the procedure as it is barred in her home state due to the so-called heartbeat bill, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The Ohio bill does not have any exceptions for rape, incest or abuse.
Initially the girl had sought treatment from an Ohio doctor but was turned away because she was just over six weeks pregnant, the cut-off imposed by a new state law.
She then asked Bernard for help on June 30, and the doctor then alerted Indiana’s department of health and department of child services of the girl’s abortion on July 2, noting that she had been a victim of abuse.
Police were made aware of the girl’s pregnancy through a referral by the Franklin County Children Services that had been made by her mother on June 22.
Columbus police Detective Jeffrey Huhn, who testified at Fuentes’ arraignment Wednesday, claims the girl named the Guatemalan resident as her attacker and the father of her child.
Ohio AG Dave Yost Yost had claimed in an interview that there was no ‘biological evidence’ to the story, and that he hadn’t heard a ‘whisper anywhere’ about the little girl. He was then forced to issue a statement after the charges were brought against Fuentes
In a statement on Wednesday, Yost quickly took a different tack on the case following the charges. He initially claimed that Ohio’s abortion laws have a ‘medical exception’
He also testified that DNA evidence collected from the clinic in Indianapolis will be tested against samples taken from Fuentes, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Officials are also testing DNA collected from the child’s siblings in an attempt to confirm who fathered the fetus.
The case has been under scrutiny by Ohio officials, specifically Attorney General Dave Yost, since it first made national headlines earlier this month.
Yost, during a Fox News interview Monday, claimed there’s no ‘biological evidence’ to the story and he hasn’t heard a ‘whisper anywhere’ about the little girl before the charges were brought.
The AG also noted that ‘Ohio’s heartbeat law has a medical exception, which is broader than just the life of the mother.’
Following the news of Fuentes’ arrest, the AG’s office released a statement, reading in part: ‘My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child.
‘I am grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street.
‘Justice must be served and BCI stands ready to support law enforcement across Ohio putting these criminals behind bars.’
