INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis doctor Caitlin Bernard will not be appealing a ruling from the medical licensing board earlier this year in which she was reprimanded for violating patient privacy laws, according to an announcement from her legal representation.
Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office also did not appeal so the matter is now closed. Each side had 30 days to decide.
The Indiana Medical Licensing Board found that Bernard broke both state and federal patient privacy laws when she publicly discussed the case of a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio seeking an abortion in Indiana. The 14-hour hearing in May concluded with sanctions and a $3,000 fine.
“My goal has always been to protect and support my fellow medical providers and people who need medical care, including abortions. My case should not create a precedent that allows politicians to go after physicians who provide reproductive care or any care that politicians disagree with. At this point, I have no confidence that an appeal would change the outcome of this decision,” Bernard said.
Bernard shared the story with a reporter last summer just before lawmakers convened in a special session to consider the near-total abortion ban and attracted national attention, with some political figures accusing her of lying to sway legislators.
The backlash even came from Attorney General Todd Rokita, who called Bernard an “abortion activist acting as a doctor.”
Advocates openly acknowledged that the personal account from Bernard’s patient pushed the General Assembly to include an exception for rape victims up to ten weeks in the near-total abortion ban — though the effectiveness of the carveout remains unknown.
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