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Posted: 2022-12-08T21:54:33Z | Updated: 2022-12-08T21:54:33Z

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) An Indiana doctor has dropped a lawsuit that aimed to halt the states attorney general from investigating her after she provided an abortion to a 10-year-old Ohio child who was raped.

Lawyers for Dr. Caitlin Bernard of Indianapolis voluntarily nixed the lawsuit filed last month against Indiana Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, according to court filings Thursday. The lawsuit argued Rokitas office was wrongly justifying the investigation with frivolous consumer complaints submitted by people with no personal knowledge about the girls treatment.

Marion County Judge Heather Welch ruled that Rokita could continue investigating Bernard , a decision that came two days after the attorney general asked the state medical licensing board to discipline the doctor. Rokita alleged Bernard violated state law by not reporting the girls child abuse to Indiana authorities and broke patient privacy laws by telling an Indianapolis Star reporter about the girls treatment.

But Welch also ruled Dec. 2 that Rokita wrongly made public comments about investigating Bernard before he filed the complaint with the medical board. The judge wrote Rokitas statements are clearly unlawful breaches of the licensing investigations statutes requirement that employees of the Attorney Generals Office maintain confidentiality over pending investigations until they are so referred to prosecution.

After the newspaper cited that case in a July 1 article about patients heading to Indiana for abortions because of more restrictive laws elsewhere, Rokita told Fox News that he would investigate Bernards actions, calling her an abortion activist acting as a doctor.

Bernards attorney, Kathleen DeLaney, has maintained the girls abuse was been reported to Ohio police and child protective services officials before the doctor ever saw the child. A 27-year-old man has been charged in Columbus, Ohio, with raping the girl. Public records obtained by the Associated Press also show Bernard met Indianas required three-day reporting period for an abortion performed on a patient younger than 16.

DeLaney also said in a statement Thursday that their focus has shifted to the complaint with the licensing board and they will continue defending Dr. Bernard and her medical license against Rokitas baseless attacks.

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Rokitas actions set a dangerous precedent imperiling the provision of lawful patient care and jeopardizing the confidentiality of patient medical records, DeLaney said. And Rokita continues to take these actions at taxpayer expense.

Rokitas office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

___

Arleigh Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Arleigh Rodgers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers

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