Dec 7, 2022
The battle initiated by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita against Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana reproductive healthcare provider, disgracefully marches onward. Our embattled AG is wrong about this endeavor, in every possible way, but it is important not to lose track of who he is hurting, and why.
A 10-year-old girl was raped, became pregnant as a result of the rape, and understandably sought an abortion in Ohio earlier this year. Due to the restrictive abortion law already in place there, the girl sought and received medical care in Indiana from Dr. Bernard.
She is, or was, a 10-year-old girl.
The mother of the girl reported the allegation to child services in Franklin County, Ohio, before medical care was sought in Indiana. The story became known through an article by Shari Rudavsky and Rachel Fradette in the Indianapolis Star on July 1. It caught the attention of President Joe Biden during a press conference in early July announcing his administration’s initial response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion in Dobbs v. Mississippi. Biden said, “10-years-old! 10-years-old…already traumatized and forced to travel to another state.”
Yes, Mr. President, that was and continues to be sadly correct.
The following Monday, on July 11, the Attorney General in Ohio, Dave Yost, started the inglorious descent of the episode by going on Fox News and claiming that there was “not a whisper of evidence” to back up the story about the rape. Ohio congressman, Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted a story from the Washington Examiner that challenged the validity of the story, adding the comment that the account was “a lie.” The tweet was deleted soon after, and for good reason.
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