A doctor who drew national attention in the United States for revealing she had performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim was reprimanded and fined by a medical board for violating patient privacy laws.
The state of Indiana’s Medical Licensing Board found gynaecologist Caitlin Bernard had violated privacy laws when she spoke publicly about the case without the consent of the patient or her guardian. It voted to fine her $3,000 while allowing her to continue practising medicine.
At the nearly 13-hour hearing Thursday, the board dismissed two other allegations in the complaint filed by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, finding Bernard had not violated laws about reporting suspected child abuse and had not failed to stay informed of relevant reporting and privacy laws.
The board issued no restrictions on her practice of medicine.
The case highlighted the sharp political divide over abortion in the US, and the challenges healthcare providers face in the wake of last June’s US Supreme Court decision to overturn the Roe v Wade precedent that had protected abortion under federal law, leaving regulation to the states
That decision put into effect an Ohio law that prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, and that made no exception for rape or incest.
Bernard has consistently defended her actions, and she told the board on Thursday that she followed Indiana’s reporting requirements and hospital policy by notifying hospital social workers about the child abuse — and that the girl’s rape was already being investigated by Ohio authorities. Bernard’s lawyers also said that she did not release any identifying information about the girl that would break privacy laws.
The Indianapolis Star had cited the girl’s case in a July 1 article that sparked a national political uproar weeks after the Supreme Court ruling.
Some news outlets and Republican politicians had falsely suggested Bernard fabricated the story about the 10-year-old’s abortion, until a 27-year-old man was charged with the rape in Columbus, Ohio. During an event at the White House, President Joe Biden nearly shouted his outrage over the case.
Medical board President Dr John Strobel said he believed Bernard went too far in telling a reporter about the girl’s pending abortion and that physicians need to be careful about observing patient privacy.
“I don’t think she expected this to go viral,” Strobel said of Bernard. “I don’t think she expected this attention to be brought to this patient. It did. It happened.”
Bernard’s lawyer Alice Morical told the board Thursday that the doctor reported child abuse of patients many times a year and that a hospital social worker had confirmed with Ohio child protection staffers that it was safe for the girl to leave with her mother.