Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis OB-GYN who was thrust into the national spotlight after a 10-year-old rape victim traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion, said the case has people recognize the impact of the laws. restrict abortions.
According to Indiana records, Bernard is the doctor who performed a medication-induced abortion on the 10-year-old girl on June 30. Due to privacy laws, he cannot confirm this.
“I think we’re at a time in our country where people are starting to realize the impact of these anti-abortion laws,” Bernard told the “CBS Evening News” anchor and editor-in-chief. Norah O’Donnell, in an exclusive television interview this Tuesday. .
“This has been going on for a long time, it’s getting harder and harder in many states for people to access abortion,” she said. “And now, when it’s finally become impossible for some people, we’re realizing what that’s going to be like, what the real-life implications are for people who need abortion care. I think people are realize that this is not what they intended. This is not what they want the children, the women, to be put in these situations of life threatening conditions, of traumatic pregnancies. They realize that abortion should be safe and legal.”
Asked how often he gets calls from out-of-state doctors about young women who have been raped and need an abortion, Bernard said, “Unfortunately, child sexual assault is not uncommon.”
“I’m not the only provider who has dealt with young children who need abortion care,” she said.
Earlier this month, Bernard gave an interview to the Indianapolis Star about the 10-year-old rape victim after Ohio’s near-total abortion ban went into effect following the Supreme Court’s decision. overturning Roe v. Wade. State law prohibits abortions from the time a fetus’s heart activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks into pregnancy.
Prominent Republicans questioned Bernard’s account and accused her of lying. Attorney General Todd Rokita said he would investigate whether Bernard violated child abuse or abortion reporting laws as well as federal medical privacy laws in speaking to the Indianapolis Star about the case. Indiana law requires doctors to report abortions performed on girls under 16 within three days of the procedure. Bernard filed his report on the girl’s abortion on July 2, according to records obtained by CBS News.
Rokita’s office first contacted Bernard’s office on Tuesday, CBS News has learned. Kathleen DeLaney, Bernard’s attorney, told CBS News that the investigation is in “the early days since our first notice was today.” He added: “It is unclear to us the nature of the investigation and what authority Dr Bernard has to investigate.”
From the initial doubt of some, a 27-year-old man from Ohio has been loaded with raping the girl.
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who according to Indiana state records provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim, tells those who doubt the veracity of children who need abortions: “Come to spend a day at my clinic.” pic.twitter.com/6cD6kMgcKx
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEeveningNews) July 26, 2022
“She came to spend a day at my clinic,” Bernard said when asked about those who accused her of making up the story. “Come see the care we provide every day. The situations people find themselves in and need abortion care are some of the most difficult you can imagine. And that’s why, as doctors, we have to be able to provide such care without obstacles, that medical decisions should be made between a doctor and his patients.”
Bernard, who told O’Donnell he had felt threatened, moved to sue Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, for defamation, said he made false statements about her after the June 30 case came to light.
Bernard also said that the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will have ramifications for other reproductive health care, not just abortions, which could put women’s lives at risk.
“When you take away the right to privacy in medical decision-making, it puts you in a situation where you don’t know where to turn,” he said. “And it makes it incredibly difficult, not just to provide abortion care, but full-spectrum reproductive health care. You know, that’s going to affect our ability to address miscarriages. That’s going to affect our ability to take care of complications early in pregnancy. This could kill someone. This will affect our ability to provide infertility treatment, contraception, the list goes on.”
Asked what he would say to those who believe abortion is immoral, Bernard said his personal religious beliefs should not prevent others from accessing medical care.
“What I would say is if you don’t think you would have an abortion, then you don’t,” she said. “You cannot prevent other people from accessing the medical care they need based on your personal religious beliefs. You would never want someone to do that to you.”
The battle for abortion
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