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* Indianapolis Star, two weeks ago…
On Monday three days after the Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, took a call from a colleague, a child abuse doctor in Ohio.
Hours after the Supreme Court action, the Buckeye state had outlawed any abortion after six weeks. Now this doctor had a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant.
Could Bernard help?
* Columbus Dispatch a few days ago…
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appeared on Fox News this week, casting doubt on the veracity of Dr. Caitlin Bernard’s account that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim needed to travel to Indiana for an abortion.
Yost, a Republican, doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday.
“Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in this state. There’s not one of them that wouldn’t be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him,” he said. “I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.”"
* Indianapolis Star yesterday…
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita went on Fox News Wednesday night to say he is looking into the Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who provided a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio with an abortion.
“We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure,” Rokita said. “If she failed to report it in Indiana, it’s a crime for — to not report, to intentionally not report.”
The attorney general also claimed that Bernard has “a history of failing to report,” as a part of his roughly 2-minute appearance on the Fox News show “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
Rokita did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.
He later released a statement reiterating his speculation about whether reporting requirements had been followed, and said he was “investigating this situation.” He also said there may be further action if a HIPAA violation occurred, meaning patient information was improperly shared. He did not offer evidence.
* As you probably know by now, the Ohio rape suspect was formally charged this week. And the Indiana doctor disclosed the abortion to the state and did not violate HIPAA laws. A whole lot of people got out over their skis on this one.
* Gov. Pritzker’s campaign issued a statement on the topic yesterday…
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 10-year-old survivor of rape in Ohio was forced to travel to Indiana to obtain an abortion. For weeks, Republicans have placed doubt upon the story and failed to acknowledge the destructive nature of abortion restrictions in their own states.
Now, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has indicated that he wants to investigate the doctor who performed the abortion and challenge her medical license. Instead of going after the rapist who attacked an underage girl, today’s GOP is more concerned with prosecuting doctors providing critical care.
Darren Bailey voted against the Reproductive Health Act, which codified the right to choose into state law and removed the law in Illinois that holds doctors criminally liable for performing an abortion. Bailey even served as a co-sponsor of a bill that would repeal the Reproductive Health Act entirely.
“As more and more states implement dangerous anti-abortion legislation, it is essential that Illinois remains an island for reproductive freedom. Voters need an answer from Darren Bailey: does he stand with protecting doctors or with the man who sexually abused a 10-year-old?” said JB for Governor Press Secretary Eliza Glezer. “We deserve to know just how far Bailey is willing to go to restrict women’s rights in Illinois. In Darren Bailey’s Illinois, doctors providing essential health care and the patients they treat could face greater burdens than abusers.”
Bailey has stated that he does not support allowing abortions even in cases of rape or incest. His extreme beliefs are a danger to women and girls in Illinois and in our neighboring states like Indiana and Ohio.
* Because the story involved two fellow state attorneys general, I asked for a statement from Attorney General Kwame Raoul today. The AG sent two. This Raoul statement is from the government side…
The scenario playing out in Ohio and Indiana demonstrates that even in the most extreme situations, some states will focus on creating obstacles to abortion access by denying the reality that the Supreme Court’s decision opens a door to potentially horrific outcomes. It is absolutely reprehensible that one state attorney general would question whether a minor who was raped would need an abortion while another would seek to punish the medical professional who provided critical care to this child in crisis. Here in Illinois, we protect the right to abortion and will protect the providers who are stepping in to serve patients whose state laws force them to seek care beyond their borders. The fact that in their quest to create barriers to abortion, two attorneys general would seek to force a 10-year-old rape victim to go through the added trauma of carrying her rapist’s child, underscores the critical need for federal legislation reestablishing the fundamental right to abortion nationwide.
And this Raoul statement is from the campaign side…
We are already seeing the horrific consequences of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the case of a 10-year-old victim of rape in Ohio — and the impact state attorneys general now have in this new reality. The Ohio attorney general, who rushed to have his state’s extreme law implemented after the Dobbs decision, had the audacity to suggest the rape did not occur, instead of challenging this extremist law that would prevent this child from obtaining critical health care. In our neighboring state of Indiana, the attorney general’s sole focus is investigating a provider who legally provided the much-needed abortion to this 10-year-old rape survivor. This sadly demonstrates what happens when extremist politics enter the office of a state attorney general.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:13 pm
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Rock on AG Raoul. those other AGs are just ridiculous.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:18 pm
And now I await the official statement of AG candidate DeVore, just as soon as he empties his first sixer of the weekend.
Comment by Roadrager Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:21 pm
== And now I await the official statement of AG candidate DeVore, just as soon as he empties his first sixer of the weekend.==
He’s too busy trolling JB’s FB today re assault weapons oof.
Comment by Big Dipper Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:32 pm
What everyone should have been concerned about is the welfare of this poor 10 year old girl who was raped and impregnated as a result of that rape. These Republicans have really lost their minds.
Comment by The Dude Abides Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:34 pm
The general counsel for the Right to Life council said OUTLOUD the girl should’ve had the baby. SMH.
Comment by Alice Childress Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:47 pm
Next meeting of the national AG association will be a wild one.
Comment by Norseman Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:58 pm
Were Yost and Rokita wearing their Spanish Inquisition outfits? Will they start going after fertility doctors for freezing embryos?
Comment by Jocko Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:58 pm
Imagine being so sick in the head, so twisted around by the imaginary goblins inhabiting your mind, that you think “raped children should be forced by the state to give birth to their rapists’ babies” is a policy position you can justify in any way. If you can do that, congratulations, you’re qualified to run in a republican primary!
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 2:59 pm
Good for AG Raoul. The other AGs involved in this disgust me. Hope the doctor sues the Indiana AG for defamation.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:02 pm
I wish my cousin read this blog, he is convinced abortion won’t be an issue in the midterms.
Comment by G'Kar Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:04 pm
Abortion will be a significant issue this November.
Set that aside. Set it aside and think on this;
The America we live in now… victims of rape/incest are seen by elected officials not as victims, but possible criminals for being underage women who find themselves pregnant by a criminal act, but it could be criminal in some states to have an abortion… or travel to a state to have an abortion.
It’s not that abortions are stopping, it’s now far more dangerous to have abortions
Raoul seems to understand what is at stake. That’s good for Illinois.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:08 pm
This should be a no-brainer. That child victim needs help and that offender needs prosecution. A victim should never be treated as a criminal
Comment by Flexible One Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:32 pm
If only the AG spent as much time and energy investigating those who pollute the air, water, and soil in his home state of Indiana. Of course, that discussion would not earn him a spot on Fox News.
Someone is always running for the next office.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:43 pm
-A victim should never be treated as a criminal.-
Nor should the people who actually care enough to help them.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:45 pm
also, Rich, thanks for asking for a statement, well, two.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Jul 15, 22 @ 3:54 pm