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Indiana high court reprimands AG for remarks about 10-year-old rape
victim's doctor
November 3, 20231:55 PM ET
By
Bill Chappell
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/03/1210440222/indiana-abortion-todd-rokita- reprimand-caitlin-barnard
The Indiana Supreme Court has found the state's attorney general, Todd
Rokita, violated professional conduct rules in his remarks about an
abortion provider. Rokita is seen here speaking in Indianapolis in 2021.
Darron Cummings/AP
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made national headlines in 2022 when
he criticized a doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape
victim from Ohio. In doing so, he also violated two rules governing
attorney conduct, according to the Indiana Supreme Court.
The high court issued a public reprimand of Rokita on Thursday, saying his comments about Dr. Caitlin Bernard were highly likely to create improper influence and also "had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass or burden the physician."
Indiana reprimands doctor who spoke publicly about providing 10-year-old's abortion
National
Indiana reprimands doctor who spoke publicly about providing 10-year-old's abortion
The court noted that in a sworn affidavit, Rokita, a Republican, "admits
these two rule violations and acknowledges that he could not successfully defend himself on these two charges if this matter were tried."
All parties agreed upon the outcome, but the five justices were split on
the punishment: Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Christopher Goff dissented, "believing the discipline to be too lenient based on the Respondent's position as Attorney General and the scope and breadth of the admitted misconduct."
How did the case start?
In July of 2022, a tragic story emerged about a young girl in Ohio who,
only about a week after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision nullifying the constitutional right to abortion, had to travel to neighboring Indiana to terminate a pregnancy that was three days over Ohio's six-week abortion restriction.
Doctors rally to defend abortion provider Caitlin Bernard after she was censured
National
Doctors rally to defend abortion provider Caitlin Bernard after she was censured
That same month, an Ohio man was arrested for raping the girl when she was
9. He has since been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
When the girl's shocking story came out, many Republicans who are against abortion questioned or outright denied its veracity. Rokita took
particular aim at her doctor, suggesting his office would look at
Bernard's medical license.
In an interview on the Fox News Channel on July 13, 2022, Rokita accused Bernard of being an "abortion activist acting as a doctor — with a history
of failing to report."
The doctor was later reprimanded
The Indiana Department of Health released a document to NPR and other
outlets last year, indicating that Bernard had in fact filed an official
report stating that she provided a medication-induced abortion to the girl
on June 30. Her employer also affirmed that the doctor hadn't violated any privacy laws.
But in May, Indiana's Medical Licensing Board reprimanded Bernard, saying
after a hearing that she had violated privacy laws when she spoke out
about her patient's case.
Doctor told the state she performed abortion on 10-year-old girl, document shows
Reproductive rights in America
Doctor told the state she performed abortion on 10-year-old girl, document shows
When Bernard testified in that hearing, Deputy Attorney General Cory
Voight asked her if "we wouldn't be sitting here today" had she not spoken
to the media about the girl's case.
"I think that if the attorney general, Todd Rokita, had not chosen to make
this his political stunt, we wouldn't be here today," Bernard replied.
The legal disciplinary process against Rokita began in September, and it
now seems that the attorney general was essentially snared in a trap of
his own making.
As the Indiana justices found Rokita's remarks were very likely to
prejudice an adjudicative proceeding, they compared this case to at least
two precedents involving attorneys' comments on criminal cases. But in
this instance, the proceeding in question was precipitated by Rokita
himself: When the Indiana Medical Licensing Board convened a hearing on
Dr. Bernard in May, it did so in response to a complaint from the attorney general's office.
What does Rokita say now?
"I was not found to have violated anyone's confidentiality or any laws. I
was not fined. And I will continue as Indiana's duly-elected attorney
general," Rokita said as he issued a lengthy statement about the outcome.
He also doubled down on his statements about Bernard, repeating them anew
and saying, "As I said at the time, my words are factual."
The attorney general depicted himself as battling a number of opponents,
saying the "media, medical establishment and cancel culture" had rallied
around Bernard.
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades
Reproductive rights in America
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades
Of the sworn affidavit in which he admitted to the charges against him,
Rokita said he has "evidence and explanation for everything I said," but
he added that he opted to revolve the matter in the interest of saving
time and money.
The decision against Rokita doesn't specify a fine, but it requires him to
pay $250 in court fees. It also mentions pending investigative costs,
which state law allows the court to impose on anyone disciplined or
sanctioned.
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