Comment Hours after a man was charged Wednesday with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) questioned whether the Indianapolis doctor who helped the child get an abortion had reported the procedure to state officials, as required the law . “We’re gathering the facts as we speak and we’re going to fight this all the way — including looking at her license if she didn’t report,” Rokita told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Wednesday night. Waters had suggested the doctor could face “criminal charges”. Rokita again expressed doubts Thursday in a letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R), saying his office had requested, but not received, documentation from state agencies that the girl’s abortion had been properly reported by the OB/GYN , Caitlin Bernard. However, records obtained by The Washington Post on Thursday afternoon show that Bernard did report the minor’s abortion to the appropriate state agencies before the legally set deadline to do so. The doctor’s attorney, Kathleen DeLaney, said in a statement to news outlets that Bernard is “considering legal action against those who have smeared [her]including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.” “My client, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, took every appropriate and proper action in accordance with the law and her medical and ethical training as a physician,” Delaney said. “She followed all relevant policies, procedures and regulations in this case, as she does every day to provide the best possible care to her patients.” In Indiana, abortion is legal up to 22 weeks into pregnancy. Under state law, providers are required to report all maternity leave within 30 days. For patients under 16, the reporting window is shortened to three days, and doctors must notify both the Indiana Department of Health and the Department of Child Services — a way for authorities to quickly launch investigations into possible child abuse cases. The 10-year-old Ohio girl’s case was first reported by the Indianapolis Star on July 1, a week after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. Although the story quickly gained international attention, it was followed by a wave of skepticism from conservative politicians, pundits and the media who expressed doubts about the story. (The Post also published a fact-check that initially concluded the girl’s abortion was a “very difficult story to verify.”) On Wednesday, however, the Columbus Dispatch confirmed the account, reporting that a 27-year-old man, Gerson Fuentes, had been charged with raping the girl. According to the newspaper, a detective testified in court that the girl had an abortion in Indianapolis on June 30. Man accused of raping 10-year-old girl who had to travel for abortion The 10-year-old initially sought treatment from an Ohio doctor but was unable to obtain abortion services because she was just over 6 weeks pregnant, the limit imposed by a new Ohio law. The doctor then asked Bernard for help — “and so the 10-year-old girl soon went to Indiana for Bernard’s care,” the Star reported. According to the report obtained by The Post, Bernard notified the Indiana Department of Health and Child Services about the girl’s abortion on July 2, noting that she had been a victim of abuse. During his interview Wednesday night on Fox News, Rokita also accused Bernard of having a “history of failing to report” cases of child abuse — a claim based on allegations made by an anti-abortion group in 2018 that have since been amplified by certain preservatives. After Rape Arrest of 10-Year-Old Girl, Fox News Hosts Shift in Focus That year, Indiana Right to Life alleged that nine doctors across the state, including Bernard, “failed to follow legal reporting requirements to protect young children from sexual abuse” in 48 cases between July 2017 and May 2018 . However, these claims appear to be far-fetched. They are based on 48 cases where doctors reported abortions to minors to the Department of Health, but left a field blank asking for the date the cases were reported to the Department of Children’s Services, according to a 2018 story in the South Bend Tribune. . Indiana Right to Life filed complaints against the doctors with the state health department and the attorney general’s office. The outcome of the state investigation into the allegations is unclear. A spokeswoman for the organization said “the state looked into it,” but when asked to share related documents, she referred The Post to the attorney general’s office, which did not investigate them. The Indiana Department of Health did not respond to multiple requests from The Post. A review of records by DocInfo — a database of physician licensure and disciplinary information from the Federation of State Medical Boards — and the Indiana Board of Medical Licensing showed no disciplinary activity or license terminations against Bernard or any of the other doctors. Rokita’s office did not respond to requests for further substantiation of his claims. Abortions are now banned in these states. See where the laws have changed. Katie McHugh, an Indiana OB/GYN and board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health, called the allegations “baseless attacks” that highlight how “abortion providers are being targeted by a state that creates a threatening attitude that is neither legal nor suitable.” “This is a waste of government time and taxpayer dollars for a political stunt that doesn’t go after the real criminal here,” McHugh added. “It’s not even focused on the victim, it’s focused on a doctor providing legal and evidence-based care.” Some abortion services will likely be outlawed as the Republican-controlled Indiana Legislature holds a special legislative session later this month. While details of the proposed abortion law are scant, it is expected to closely follow a model legislation created by National Right to Life general counsel Jim Bopp, Politico reported. Bopp’s model prohibits abortion almost entirely — with the sole exception of cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at stake. With Roe gone, anti-abortion lawmakers want to bar patients from crossing state lines. National political reporter Caroline Kitchener explains more. (Video: Casey Silvestri, Courtney Beesch/The Washington Post) The restrictions could come at a time when abortion providers in Indiana are facing an increase in patients seeking the procedure. McHugh said three of the state’s nine clinics have expanded operations to increase their patient loads by at least 50 percent since then Roe reversed. Many patients, like the 10-year-old girl from Ohio, come from neighboring states with more restrictive laws. “There are so many cases like this. Every abortion provider I have the privilege of knowing has cared for patients who are premature victims and impregnated by predators,” McHugh said. “Her story is not new and it is not something that was made up. This just goes to show that restrictions and regulations do not prevent abortion – they only serve to make it less safe.”
