A U.S. doctor has been disciplined for going public with the fact that he performed an abortion on a 10-year-old girl who had been sexually assaulted in an effort to raise awareness of the injustice of the “abortion ban.
As abortion has emerged as a key issue dividing American society, the U.S. media has been paying close attention to this case.
According to the New York Times 먹튀검증(NYT) and Washington Post (WP), the Indiana Medical Licensing Board issued a letter of reprimand and a $3,000 fine to Caitlin Bernard, an assistant professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and an obstetrician-gynecologist.
The board determined that Bernard violated her patient privacy obligations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) by disclosing the girl’s abortion to a reporter from the Indianapolis Star, a local newspaper.
Bernard testified at the hearing that as a physician, he felt obligated to inform the citizens of Indiana about how the abortion ban affects women.
The girl who was sexually assaulted traveled nearly 365 miles to Indiana to have an abortion at 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant, with Bernard’s help.
The abortion came less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade on June 24 last year.
Conservative states like Ohio immediately enacted legislation that effectively outlawed abortion, and the girl had to travel to Indiana for the procedure. The case garnered attention across the country as it became a poster child for abortion bans.
“Obstetrician-gynecologist Caitlin Bernard is sheltering a 10-year-old sexual assault victim who came to Ohio for an abortion,” the Indianapolis Star first reported in early July.
Meanwhile, in June of last year, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion as a constitutional right. As a result, each state is free to decide on its own whether or not to allow abortion.