Doctor who provided abortion for 10-year-old rape victim moves to sue Indiana attorney general for defamation

The law firm for a health care provider who offered abortion solutions to a 10-year-outdated rape sufferer moved to file a defamation lawsuit towards Indiana Attorney Common Todd Rokita.

An legal professional for Dr. Caitlin Bernard on Tuesday filed a tort claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, following Rokita told area and nationwide media stores that he was investigating the physician right after she executed the process on a affected person who could not get an abortion in her household condition of Ohio.

Rokita’s business did not quickly reply to a ask for for remark.

Ohio enacted a “fetal heartbeat” regulation, banning abortions at close to the 6-week mark of pregnancy, soon after the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe. v Wade very last thirty day period. The female was just above six months pregnant, Bernard instructed The Indianapolis Star.

Indiana legislators are planning for a distinctive session to debate banning abortion later on in July, but the treatment is at present nonetheless authorized in the point out.

Previous 7 days, Rokita appeared on Fox News and said he was investigating Bernard following she advised The Indianapolis Star about managing the girl. He stated he was “gathering the evidence” from Bernard, “including hunting at her licensure” and regardless of whether “she failed to report” the treatment in Indiana due to the fact “it’s a criminal offense to not report, to deliberately not report.”

The lawyer normal also said in the section that Bernard was an “abortion activist performing as a doctor” with a “history of failing to report.”

Rokita recurring lots of of his Fox Information remarks in a statement through his office environment, prompting Bernard’s legal professional on Friday to mail the attorney basic a cease-and-desist letter. In his statement, Rokita further questioned irrespective of whether Bernard violated health and fitness privacy legal guidelines by discussing the girl’s case with The Indianapolis Star.

“Mr. Rokita’s phony and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard in her occupation constitute defamation for each se,” Tuesday’s tort claim reads.

“The statements have been and continue to be published by or on behalf of Mr. Rokita and the Business office of the Legal professional General. To the extent that these statements exceed the standard scope of Mr. Rokita’s authority as Indiana’s Lawyer Normal, the assertion sorts the foundation of an actionable defamation assert in opposition to Mr. Rokita separately.”

The tort claim says Rokita both understood his reviews have been bogus or he “acted with reckless disregard of the fact or falsity of the statements.”

In regard to his Fox Information remarks that Bernard was an “abortion activist” that experienced a “record of failing to report,” her attorneys said in the assert that a check out of Indiana’s health care license databases would have shown that the health practitioner experienced “no disciplinary historical past.”

Bernard’s employer, Indiana University Overall health, earlier stated that an investigation found that the medical professional was “in compliance with privacy rules.”

NBC Information also attained a Terminated Pregnancy Report from the Indiana Department of Well being exhibiting Bernard experienced described the treatment inside the needed timeframe.

Dareh Gregorian contributed.