The Medical Board of this North American State ruled that Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated medical confidentiality by presenting this child’s case to the media without obtaining consent from the girl or her guardians
An American doctor was fined for revealing to the press last year that helped a 10-year-old girl terminate a pregnancy after being raped, Indiana authorities said.
The Medical Board of this Northern US State ruled that Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated medical confidentiality by presenting this child’s case to the media without obtaining the consent of the girl or her guardians.
Caitlin Bernard had spoken to the press in the summer of 2022 saying that she had received the baby girl in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana, after a communication she had with a colleague from neighboring Ohio, where a law prohibiting abortion after six weeks pregnancy had automatically entered into force. And this after the cancellation of the constitutional protection of the right to abortion by the US Supreme Court last June.
But the little girl, who had been raped in May, had passed this pregnancy limit. So she went to Indiana, where abortions were legal up to the 21st week of pregnancy.
But officials in this state, where Republicans hold a majority, are hostile to abortion rights. A law almost completely banning the voluntary termination of pregnancy was passed last August, but remains blocked by the judiciary for now.
“This case is about medical confidentiality and the loss of trust between a doctor and his patient,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who opened an investigation against the doctor, accusing her of failing to report the girl’s case to the authorities as required by local law on child molestation cases.
The case received a lot of media coverage, and sparked heated debates around abortion that are divisive in the country.
After more than ten hours of hearings, the Indiana Medical Board decided to fine Dr. Caitlin Bernard $3,000 but allowed her to continue practicing medicine, finding that the doctor had complied with legal procedures related to domestic violence. minors.
“It is important that people know what patients will suffer because of the law that has come into force,” the doctor stressed in front of her colleagues.
Source :Skai
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