Indiana board reprimands, fines doctor for speaking publicly about abortion for 10-year-old rape victim
CBSDec 20, 2022
The Facts
Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim who crossed state lines to receive the treatment last June, has been reprimanded by Indiana's Medical Licensing Board for speaking publicly about the case.
The state medical board fined Bernard $3K and issued a letter of reprimand for violating the victim's privacy by publicizing the case but cleared her of the allegation that she failed to report the rape to authorities.
The Spin
Republican narrative
A board of her peers rightly found her in the wrong for bringing international attention to a rape victim who was only 10 years of age at the time, no doubt distressing the victim and her family greatly. What's worse, Bernard did so to advance a political agenda at her own admission. The liberal media was complicit in this grave violation of medical ethics by making the lurid and disturbing details headline news.
Democratic narrative
A vindictive attorney general has convinced a medical board hand-picked by a Republican governor to punish a doctor for showing the naked truth of what a post-Roe America looks like. Conservatives have relentlessly hounded the doctor for daring to speak out, falsely accusing her of lying about the case and then trumping up charges at a professional hearing to silence those who speak out against the GOP agenda.