Indiana's attorney general, Todd Rokita, is suing the state's largest health-care system, Indiana University Health (IU Health),
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for allegedly mishandling a case involving a doctor who performed an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim.
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The controversial procedure took place shortly after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, garnering national attention and becoming politically charged.
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Rokita claims that IU Health prioritized the physician, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, over the patient's right to confidentiality.
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The lawsuit comes after Rokita himself was found to have violated professional conduct rules by discussing the case.
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IU Health maintains that it upholds patient privacy and expresses disappointment that the attorney general is allocating state resources to the matter.
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The lawsuit centers on Dr. Caitlin Bernard speaking publicly about the abortion without naming the patient, which she performed in June 2022.
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The girl crossed state lines for the abortion due to Ohio's trigger law, which banned abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy following Roe v.
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Roe v. Wade's overturn. Indiana was the first post-Roe state to effectively ban all abortions.
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The medical license board found Bernard in violation of privacy laws, including HIPAA, and fined her $3,000. Rokita launched an inquiry into her actions, leading to a back-and-forth legal battle.
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President Biden emphasized the need to prevent children from having to cross state lines for abortions, while some right-wing commentators initially labeled Bernard's story as a hoax.
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Local journalists confirmed the girl's case, leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.
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Rokita's lawsuit accuses IU Health of inconsistency in handling privacy breaches and seeks fines, damages, and changes to patient information safeguarding rules.
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