INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney sent an email to the Indiana attorney general Friday asking him to stop spreading false or misleading information about an Indianapolis doctor who performed an abortion in June on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
Attorney Kathleen Delaney sent the “cease and desist” letter to Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on behalf of OB/GYN Caitlin Bernard, who performed the girl’s medical abortion.
The letter said Rokita’s statements Wednesday on Fox News “cast Dr. Bernard in a false light and alleged misconduct in her profession.” Delaney said the doctor could file a defamation suit against Rokita if he doesn’t comply.
Rokita told Fox that his office is investigating whether Bernard violated medical privacy laws by speaking about the victim to the Indianapolis Star, and he said she did not notify authorities of alleged child abuse. He did not offer specific allegations of wrongdoing.
Records obtained by The Associated Press and other local media outlets show Bernard filed the report on July 2, which is within the state’s required three-day reporting period for an abortion performed on a girl under 16.
“We are particularly concerned that, given the controversial political context of the statements, such inflammatory allegations have the potential to incite harassment or violence from the public that could prevent Dr. Bernard, a licensed physician from Indiana, from take care of your patents safely,” the letter states.
A 27-year-old man has been accused of raping the girl, which confirms the case, which was examined by Republican politicians and some media. Those reactions intensified after Democratic President Joe Biden expressed sympathy for the girl when he signed an executive order protecting access to abortion last week.
“Like all correspondence, it will be reviewed if and when it arrives. Regardless, no false or misleading statements were made,” Kelly Stevenson, a spokeswoman in Rokita’s office, said by email.
Bernard tweeted Friday that he hopes to “be able to share his story soon.”
“It’s been a difficult week, but my colleagues and I will continue to deliver health care ethically, lovingly, and courageously every day,” she wrote.
Dr. Diana Contreras, chief health officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, released a statement saying, “No health care provider should be harassed, intimidated or criminalized for doing their job. This is unconscionable and unacceptable and we condemn it in the strongest possible way.
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Arlie Rogers is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. America Report is a national nonprofit program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues. Follow Arleigh Rodgers on Twitter.
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