Indiana high court reprimands AG for remarks about 10-year-old rape victim's doctor

November 3, 20231:55 PM ET
By Bill Chappell

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made national headlines in 2022 when he criticized a doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio. In doing so, he also violated two rules governing attorney conduct, according to the Indiana Supreme Court.

The high court issued a public reprimand of Rokita on Thursday, saying his comments about Dr. Caitlin Bernard were highly likely to create improper influence and also "had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass or burden the physician."

Indiana reprimands doctor who spoke publicly about providing 10-year-old's abortion
The court noted that in a sworn affidavit, Rokita, a Republican, "admits these two rule violations and acknowledges that he could not successfully defend himself on these two charges if this matter were tried."

All parties agreed upon the outcome, but the five justices were split on the punishment: Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Christopher Goff dissented, "believing the discipline to be too lenient based on the Respondent's position as Attorney General and the scope and breadth of the admitted misconduct."

[...]