Fucking crazy... They don't give a shit about life...

Indiana doctor moves toward suing AG who threatened to charge her over 10-year-old’s abortion

Caitlin Bernard claims Todd Rokita made statements in media appearances and press releases that he “recklessly and/or negligently failed to ascertain” were true.

By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN

The doctor at the forefront of a national battle over abortion rights took a step toward suing Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita for defamation on Tuesday— saying his public threat to criminally prosecute her after she provided an abortion for a 10-year-old girl from Ohio caused her “reputational harm and emotional distress” and featured several “false and misleading” statements.

Caitlin Bernard — the Indiana OB-GYN who performed the abortion on the young rape survivor — claims Rokita made statements in media appearances and press releases over the past week that he “recklessly and/or negligently failed to ascertain” were true, including suggesting without evidence that Bernard violated the patient’s HIPAA privacy rights and failed to file the proper paperwork required after treating a minor.

Rokita’s threat of prosecution came three weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and highlighted how local authorities felt newly empowered to target physicians even in states where the procedure remains legal.

The child had to travel from Ohio to Indiana because she was just a few days past her home state’s six-week limit for abortions which includes no exemptions for rape or incest.

President Joe Biden cited the case as an example of the harm and chaos the country is experiencing in the wake of the high court’s ruling, prompting several elected officials and media pundits to spend days questioning the veracity of the story until law enforcement arrested the alleged perpetrator and confirmed the rape and pregnancy.

The new notice of a tort claim from Bernard now triggers a 90-day period where the state is in charge of investigating the situation. After that, depending on what they find, a lawsuit can be filed.

A spokesperson for Rokita said his work is distinguishing Indiana as a protector of unborn life and of women and that the claims were baseless.

“This is part of a divisive narrative and an attempt to distract from the important work of the office, including the duty to determine whether practitioners have violated the standards of practice in his or her profession, as well as federal and state laws,” the spokesperson said.

Last week, the Republican attorney general issued a statement saying his office is investigating Bernard, specifically whether she reported the abortion to the departments of health and child services within the required three-day time window.

In a statement that remains on his website — even after media outlets including POLITICO obtained records that showed she did report the abortion — Rokita warned: “The failure to do so constitutes a crime in Indiana, and her behavior could also affect her licensure.”

Bernard’s legal filing doesn’t specify an amount she’ll be demanding from the state, but it says she “intends to seek damages for security costs, legal fees, reputational harm, and emotional distress.”

Bernard’s spokesperson Kendra Barkoff told POLITICO that her client has experienced “personal and dangerous threats” against her and her family since Rokita publicly accused her of wrongdoing.

Rokita is also facing blowback from other corners. On Friday, the former dean of the Indiana University School of Law launched a formal ethics complaint against him — asking the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission to look into whether he committed professional misconduct in making “inflammatory statements on national television” about Bernard “without due diligence concerning their truthfulness.” If the commission finds that Rokita did act improperly, he could face disbarment.

Indiana, meanwhile, is just a few weeks away from convening a special session of its GOP-controlled legislature during which consideration of a near-total abortion ban is expected.