Indiana Judge Finds Attorney General Violated State Law, Caused ‘Irreparable Harm’ to Doctor Who Cared for Pregnant 10-Year-Old Ohio Rape Victim

MARISA SARNOFF
Dec 2nd, 2022, 7:59 pm

An Indiana judge has found that state Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) caused “irreparable harm” to the reputation of a doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim, but both sides are claiming victory after the judge denied the doctor’s motion for an injunction.

The ruling from Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch, issued late Friday, denied Dr. Caitlin Bernard‘s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Rokita from using what Bernard described as “frivolous” consumer complaints against her. Rokita has been relentless in his criticism of Bernard since July, when the Indianapolis Star published a story in which the doctor said she provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who had to come Indiana for care due to her home state’s restrictive laws.

The judge found that Bernard’s motion, which was also filed on behalf of Bernard’s medical partner Amy Caldwell, was moot because Rokita had filed an administrative complaint with the state’s medical licensing board on Wednesday.

“Dr. Bernard has met her burden to show irreparable harm based on the Attorney General’s public statements regarding investigations which by Indiana law must have remained confidential until the complaint was filed with the Medical Licensing Board,” Welch wrote in her ruling, after finding that Bernard had not successfully made a showing of irreparable harm on other grounds.

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