Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said his office will investigate Caitlin Bernard, MD, the Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist who cared for a pregnant 10-year-old rape victim.
Dr. Bernard has spoken to the Indianapolis Star and other news outlets about providing care to a pregnant child from Ohio who traveled to Indiana for an abortion. The child was six weeks and three days into her pregnancy, Dr. Bernard said. That timeline means she was nine years old when she became pregnant.
"If Dr. Bernard has failed to file the required reports on time, she has committed an offense, the consequences of which could include criminal prosecution and licensing repercussions," Mr. Rokita said in a letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, referring to state requirements to report cases of child sexual abuse and abortions performed on minors.
In a July 13 appearance on Fox News, Mr. Rokita said Dr. Bernard is an "abortion activist, acting as a doctor, with a history of failing to report."
"There's a strong public interest in understanding if someone under the age of 16 or under the age of 18 or really any woman is having abortion in our state," Mr. Rokita said. "We're going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure."
Documents released by Indiana state health officials include a July 2 record of Dr. Bernard reporting the 10-year-old's abortion and that her pregnancy occurred via sexual abuse, NPR reported July 15.