Doctor who provided abortion for 10-year-old Ohio girl is under investigation

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana attorney general is investigating whether a physician broke the law and violated her medical license in providing an abortion for a 10-year-old who reportedly traveled from Ohio for the procedure.

A Columbus, Ohio, man is in jail on charges accusing him of impregnating the girl, whose story of traveling to the Hoosier state for an abortion led to international attention.

According to our news partner WBNS-TV in Columbus, Gerson Fuentes, 27, is charged with one count of rape involving the girl. He remains in the Franklin County Jail on a $2 million bond.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said he has asked Gov. Eric Holcomb for documents to confirm whether Dr. Caitlin Bernard is in compliance with state law in the case of the girl.

“Aside from the horror caused here by illegal immigration, we are investigating this situation and are waiting for the relevant documents to prove if the abortion and/or abuse were reported, as Dr. Caitlin Bernard has requirement to do both under Indiana law,” Rokita said in a statement released this afternoon.

“The failure to do so constitutes a crime in Indiana, and her behavior could also affect her licensure. Additionally, if a HIPAA violation did occur, that may affect next steps as well. I will not relent in the pursuit of truth.”

In a letter dated July 13, Rokita said his office asked Dr. Bernard to file a Termination of Pregnancy Report with the Indiana Department of Health regarding the procedure for the girl.

As of Wednesday, he said, Dr. Bernard so far “produced no Termination of Pregnancy Report in response to our request.”

Rokita said that on July 11, a member of his staff contacted the IDOH to ask for all TPRs filed within the last 30 days. The request was made so Rokita’s office could review whether any reported abortion by Dr. Bernard on a 10-year-old girl.

A response to a follow-up email sent the following day said only that IDOH has a new system that “would take longer than the old, but I will check with them.”

On July 12, Rokita said, his staff reached out multiple times by email to the state Department of Child Services to obtain proof that a report of suspected child abuse has been filed in response to the case involving the 10-year-old.

“We have received no response,” Rokita said in the letter to the governor.

Dr. Bernard has committed an offense if she has failed to file the required reports on time, Rokita said in the letter, “the consequences of which could include criminal prosecution and licensing repercussions.”

Rokita said state officeholders have the responsibility “to get to the bottom of this matter immediately for the sake of the safety and well-being of children and families across Indiana and even, as in this case, those from other states.”

This afternoon, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued a legal explainer regarding the state’s “Heartbeat Law,” which does not allow performing or inducing an abortion without first checking for a heartbeat.

There is no gestational time limit in Ohio’s law, Yost said in the explainer.

The statute contains three exceptions: To prevent the death of the mother; due to a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the mother; and in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, according to Yost’s office.

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