Restrictive Laws
Well-known abortion doctor in the US fined
Caitlin Bernard before the medical board that imposed the sentence
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The Indiana Medical Association has fined well-known abortion doctor Caitlin Bernard. She had performed the abortion on a ten-year-old rape victim and spoken about it publicly.
A well-known abortion doctor in the US has to pay a fine. The doctor had made an abortion in a ten-year-old rape victim public. The Indiana Medical Association ruled Thursday evening (local time) that Caitlin Bernard violated privacy laws last summer. According to the US media, the panel imposed a fine of 3,000 dollars (around 2,800 euros), but did not revoke the doctor’s approval.
The case made headlines last summer shortly after the US Supreme Court overturned the nation’s fundamental right to abortion. A ten-year-old rape victim had to travel from the state of Ohio to the neighboring state of Indiana for an abortion because Ohio had banned abortions after the sixth week immediately after the Supreme Court decision. With the girl, this period had expired.
Bernard spoke to a newspaper about the case
Bernard spoke to a local newspaper about the case without revealing the girl’s identity. This led to a huge political debate. President Joe Biden took up the case when he presented measures to protect the right to abortion. Right-wing politicians and the media, however, doubted that the case had actually happened – especially since there was initially only one source, doctor Bernard.
It was later announced that the suspected rapist had been arrested. In this context, the authorities confirmed the abortion of the young victim in Indiana.
penalty for invasion of privacy
The state attorney general, Republican Todd Rokita, called for the abortion doctor to be punished in the course of the affair. Among other things, he accused the doctor of not having properly informed the authorities. The Medical Association has now come to the conclusion that this allegation is not correct. But she saw a violation of the girl’s privacy. Attorney General Rokita welcomed the fine imposed on Bernard.
Abortion rights are one of the most controversial socio-political issues in the United States. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the more than 50-year-old “Roe v. Wade” landmark ruling, which enshrined a nationwide fundamental right to abortion. Since then, numerous conservative-governed states have banned abortion or severely restricted access.