Doctor’s supporters, hospital object to penalty for discussing young rape victim’s abortion

Supporters of an Indianapolis doctor voiced frustration Friday with the Indiana medical board’s ruling that she violated patient privacy laws when she talked with a newspaper reporter about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.

The board’s vote late Thursday to issue a letter of reprimand against Dr. Caitlin Bernard won’t limit her ability to practice medicine in the state, and the hospital system where she works said it stood by its finding that she followed privacy rules. The medical board rejected additional accusations that Bernard failed to properly report suspected child abuse and was unfit to have a medical license.

Some of Bernard’s colleagues criticized the Medical Licensing Board’s vote and the state attorney general’s pursuit of disciplinary action against her, calling them part of an effort to intimidate doctors in Indiana, where the Republican-dominated Legislature enacted an abortion ban last year that courts have put on hold.

Bernard’s revelation that the girl traveled to Indiana to receive abortion drugs turned her case into a lightning rod in the national abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last June. Some news outlets and Republican politicians falsely suggested Bernard had fabricated the story, until a 27-year-old man was charged with the rape in Columbus, Ohio. President Biden nearly shouted his outrage over the case during an event at the White House.

Republican Atty. Gen. Todd Rokita, who is stridently antiabortion, said the board’s decision supported his arguments that Bernard had broken “the trust between the doctor and patient.”

The board’s vote to reprimand Bernard and fine her $3,000, however, was far short of the medical license suspension that Rokita’s office asked the panel to impose.

Bernard’s lawyers argued Thursday that officials at Indiana University Health, her employer and the state’s largest hospital system, had reviewed what she said about the girl’s treatment and found no violation of HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Indiana University Health said in a statement Friday that it was pleased Bernard would remain among its doctors.

“We do not agree with the board’s decision regarding patient privacy regulations and stand by the HIPAA risk assessment,” the hospital system said. “We believe Dr. Bernard was compliant with privacy laws.”

A request for an interview with Bernard was declined Friday by a spokeswoman for her attorneys.

Bernard’s lawyers didn’t say Friday whether they would appeal the board decision in the state court system. They issued a statement questioning the board for reprimanding her without specifying what protected health information she had allegedly revealed.

“While we wholeheartedly disagree with the letter of reprimand on privacy issues, we are proud of Dr. Bernard for standing up for access to compassionate medical care and for her consummate professionalism during these unprecedented proceedings,” said her lead attorney, Alice Morical.

Bernard has consistently defended her actions. She testified Thursday that she believed it was important to discuss the “real-world impacts” of antiabortion laws and that she didn’t expect so many doubts over her account of such a young girl becoming pregnant.

“The idea that this was something that someone would make up or was a lie or is something that doesn’t happen was very surprising to me,” Bernard said.

Witnesses and lawyers for the state attorney general’s office maintained during the licensing hearing that it was the combination of Bernard telling an Indianapolis Star reporter about the girl’s age and home state, that she was past Ohio’s then-six-week limit for an abortion and that the procedure would happen in the coming days that created a violation of patient privacy laws.

Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, a pediatrician who works with Bernard, attended the board hearing to support her, and called her case “political persecution” that should worry doctors.

“I think it’s incredibly unfortunate, as the intimidation of Dr. Bernard sends a message that this can happen to any physician that’s providing comprehensive, evidence-based healthcare to their patients,” Wilkinson said.

Antiabortion groups called on Indiana hospitals to reconsider whether to keep doctors who provide abortions on their staff.

“Dr. Bernard readily and willingly put her patient — who was not consulted or willing — into the public light for her own agenda,” said Marc Tuttle, president of Right to Life of Indianapolis.

The medical board members — five doctors and one attorney, all appointed or reappointed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb — rejected separate allegations that Bernard had violated state law by not reporting the abuse of the child to Indiana authorities. Bernard and Indiana University Health officials testified that she had followed Indiana’s reporting requirements and hospital policy by notifying hospital social workers about the abuse — and that the girl’s rape was already being investigated by Ohio authorities.

The board’s split decision on the allegations against Bernard left no clear winner in the case, said Laura Iosue, a lawyer who led medical licensing investigations at the state attorney general’s office for seven years until 2020. The vote will lead to doctors watching what they talk about more closely, she said.

“Everybody’s going to be a little more cautious,” Iosue said. “I think everybody’s going to have their antennae up now, based on this decision.”