Doctor Who Treated 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Moves Towards Defamation Lawsuit Against Indiana AG
Dr. Caitlin Bernard took the first step toward suing Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) for defamation over her part in the viral news story about a 10-year-old girl who had to cross state lines to have an abortion.
Bernard’s legal representative Kathleen DeLaney sent a letter to Rokita announcing that her client, an OB/GYN who treated the girl, will seek compensation for damages pertaining to “security costs, legal fees, reputational harm, and emotional distress.”
According to the letter:
Rokita’s false and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard in her profession constitute defamation per se. The statements have been and continue to be published by or on behalf of Mr. Rokita and the Office of the Attorney General. To the extent that these statements exceed the general scope of Mr. Rokita’s authority as Indiana’s Attorney General, the statement forms the basis of an actionable defamation claim against Mr. Rokita individually.
Bernard was at the center of the Indianapolis Star’s explosive story about the young girl who was impregnated by her rapist. Bernard performed the abortion for the girl in Indiana since Ohio’s trigger laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade rendered the procedure forbidden in the state after 6 weeks of pregnancy.
Conservative media, from blogs to prominent shows at Fox News, cast doubt on the story. It was eventually confirmed after 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes was arrested and confessed to raping the girl twice.
The crux of Bernard’s claim against Rokita is an appearance on the Fox News show of Jesse Watters in which he accused her of failing to report the rape.
“We have this abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report,” Rokita said on Fox News last week. “We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure. If she failed to report it in Indiana, it’s a crime for — to not report, to intentionally not report.”
Rokita later announced an investigation into Bernard for her supposed failure to report a crime in a timely manner, an investigation that entails the threat of criminal prosecution and loss of her medical license.
The problem for Rokita is that records reviewed by the Washington Post and other outlets show Bernard did report the abortion to the relevant authorities before the deadline.
From the letter:
Mr. Rokita recklessly and/or negligently failed to ascertain whether the statements about Dr. Bernard’s licensure were true or false before making them. Statements that Dr. Bernard has a “history of failing to report,” which Mr. Rokita indicated would constitute a crime, made in the absence of reasonable investigation, serve no legitimate law enforcement purpose. Given the current political atmosphere in the United States, Mr. Rokita’s comments were intended to heighten public condemnation of Dr. Bernard, who legally provided legitimate medical care.
Read the full letter here.
