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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Indianapolis OB-GYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard won’t appeal the Indiana Medical Licensing Board’s determination that she violated patient privacy laws by talking publicly about an abortion she performed on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
Bernard’s legal team announced the decision Wednesday.
“At this point, I have no confidence that an appeal would change the outcome of this decision,” Bernard said in a statement.
The licensing board reprimanded and fined Bernard $3,000 in May for the privacy violation but rejected accusations brought by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita that she violated state law by not reporting the child abuse to Indiana authorities. The board also declined to suspend Bernard’s medical license.
The board issued its finalized ruling in late July, triggering a 30-day window for Bernard to appeal in Marion Superior Court.
“AG Rokita’s politically-motivated attempts to use my work as a provider to create a national platform for himself and his subsequent complaint to the Medical Licensing Board, is just a small part of the post-Roe landscape,” Bernard said in a statement, referencing the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. “My time and energy are much better spent providing healthcare to Hoosiers now living under the recent abortion ban in our state and in the broader fight for reproductive healthcare. I’m proud of the stand I took, and I’m grateful to have the support of my family, friends, and colleagues who have stuck by my side through it all.”
Bernard continues to practice medicine, the announcement said.
In a statement to Indiana Lawyer, Rokita said his office also would not be appealing “because we won the case.”
“… (I)t’s not surprising Dr. Bernard is not appealing,” the statement said. “The Medical Licensing Board found Dr. Bernard liable for violating state and federal patient privacy laws on three separate counts, penalized her with the maximum fine possible under the law, and issued a formal letter of reprimand. My team fought for the 10-year-old girl’s privacy rights and continues to do the same for other Hoosier patients.”
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