At the center of it all: a 10-year-old rape victim, identity unknown, suddenly thrust into a political fight over one of the country’s most contentious issues. The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post clarified or corrected the stories after an Ohio man was accused Wednesday of raping the girl, who traveled to Indiana for an abortion last month. The case first came to light in a July 1 article in The Indianapolis Star about patients headed to Indiana for abortion services because of more restrictive laws in surrounding states after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision . The piece began with an anecdote about an Indianapolis doctor who was asked by an Ohio colleague to help the girl, who was past the stage of pregnancy where she could have a legal abortion in Ohio. The story was picked up by Biden during a press conference on July 8 to announce an executive order to try to protect access to abortion services. “Should a 10-year-old be forced to give birth to a rapist’s child?” Biden asked. “I can’t think of anything more extreme.” By then, there were already questions about Star’s story, notably in a series of tweets and a July 8 story in PJ Media by conservative columnist Megan Fox, headlined “Viral abortion horror ‘pregnant 10-year-old rape victim.’ The story deserves a deeper look.” Fox questioned why the only apparent source for the story about the girl was Indiana doctor Caitlin Bernard, and whether she was credible because she performs abortions and protested the restrictions placed on the service. Washington Post data controller Glenn Kessler wrote last Saturday about these questions, noting that an abortion performed on a 10-year-old girl is rare. “This is a very difficult story to verify,” Kessler wrote. “Bernard is on the record, but obtaining documents or other confirmation is completely impossible without details identifying the location where the rape occurred.” The Star story did not identify the Ohio doctor who had called Bernard. The paper’s executive editor, Bro Krift, has not discussed what steps the paper took to confirm Bernard’s story and declined to comment to The Associated Press on Thursday. A named source like Bernard is a good start, said Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Ethical Journalism at the University of Wisconsin. If the Star had other sources, he might not have wanted to provide them at the risk of identifying the victim, he said. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, said Thursday that his office is investigating whether Bernard violated medical privacy laws by speaking about the victim to the Star or whether he failed to notify authorities of suspected child abuse. Indianapolis District Attorney Ryan Mears, a Democrat, said his office had sole authority to bring any such charges and that Bernard was being “bullied and intimidated.” Bernard’s attorney issued a statement Thursday saying the doctor provided appropriate treatment and did not violate any patient privacy laws or other rules. Bernard is also considering legal action against “those who have defamed my client,” including Rokita. Bernard reported a June 30 medical abortion for a 10-year-old patient to the state health department on July 2, within the three-day requirement set by state law for a girl under 16, according to the report obtained by the Indianapolis Star. and WXIN-TV of Indianapolis. In conservative media circles, questions raised about the procurement quickly shifted to claims that the story was a lie. “The idea that politicians in America would try to exploit a story like this and make a story like this to advance their own sick agenda tells you they’re not serious about this,” said the Fox News analyst. , Charlie Hurt. Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal, in an article Tuesday, called it “an abortion story too good to be true.” The newspaper wrote that “all kinds of fantastic stories travel far and wide on social media these days, but you don’t expect them to be heard in the White House.” Under the headline “Correcting the Record in a Rape Case” on Thursday, the newspaper wrote that “it appears President Biden was accurate.” “The country must find a rough consensus on abortion now that it’s back to the states and the political process,” the Journal wrote. “One way to help is to make sure that stories about abortion, from either side of the debate, can be easily verified. Passions are already heated enough.” Kessler attached a note to his column reporting the arrest and said it was a test case of whether reporters should rely on one source for a sensational story. He faced intense heat online, both for his original story and his explanations. US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted that “this column is appalling.” Waiting for law enforcement to confirm is questionable when many women don’t report rape to authorities, she said. Shani George, a spokeswoman for the Washington Post, said: “The article was intended to highlight the need for careful reporting in an era when information spreads quickly.” PJ Media’s Fox said journalists should always question reporting and do their own digging since hoaxes in the media are so prevalent today. “I would ask every question I asked in my original report again,” he told the AP. PJ Media quickly turned Thursday to a story headlined: “Illegal alien arrested for raping 10-year-old abortion patient, but questions remain.” A Columbus police detective testified at a hearing Wednesday that there was no evidence the suspect was in the country legally. In court documents filed the same day, a prosecutor said the suspect is not a US citizen and is subject to possible deportation. The Associated Press is not identifying the suspect because there are questions about whether his reported name was real and whether he is related to the girl involved. The incident shows how political news often moves faster than journalism and that reporters are caught responding to pundits, said Culver of Wisconsin. “The most important issue here is that it appears a 10-year-old was sexually assaulted,” he said, “and that’s a tragedy.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
