Abortion-Indiana

An Indiana board has decided to reprimand an Indianapolis doctor after finding that she violated patient privacy laws by talking publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio. The state Medical Licensing Board voted that Dr. Caitlin Bernard didn’t abide by privacy laws when she told a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment in a case that became a flashpoint in the national abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. Board members chose to fine Bernard $3,000 for the violations, turning down a request from the attorney general’s office to suspend Bernard’s license.

Supporters of an Indianapolis doctor have voiced frustration with the Indiana medical board’s decision that she violated patient privacy laws when she talked with a newspaper reporter about providing an abortion last summer to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim. The board’s vote late Thursday to issue a letter of reprimand against Dr. Caitlin Bernard won’t limit her ability to practice medicine. The hospital system where she works said it stood by its review that she followed privacy rules. Some of Bernard’s colleagues criticized the state attorney general’s pursuit of disciplinary action against her as trying to intimidate doctors. Her lawyers haven't said whether they will appeal the board's decision in the state court system.