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Doctor who provided abortion for Ohio girl files claim for damages against Todd Rokita

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who was cast into the national spotlight after providing abortion services for a 10-year-old Ohio girl, has filed a claim for damages against Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita ― a first step toward a possible defamation lawsuit.

Bernard's attorney, Kathleen Delaney, sent a tort claim notice Tuesday to Rokita seeking unspecified damages for security costs, legal fees, reputational harm, and emotional distress. The tort claim triggers a 90-day period for Rokita to investigate or settle the claim. After that, Bernard can file a lawsuit.

“Mr. Rokita’s false and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard in her profession constitute defamation per se," the notice says. "The statements have been and continue to be published by or on behalf of Mr. Rokita and the Office of the Attorney General. To the extent that these statements exceed the general scope of Mr. Rokita’s authority as Indiana’s Attorney General, the statement forms the basis of an actionable defamation claim against Mr. Rokita individually.”

Rokita went on Fox News last week to announce he is investigating whether Bernard disclosed the abortion that has become a national flashpoint.

“We have this abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report," Rokita said. "We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure. If she failed to report it in Indiana, it’s a crime for – to not report, to intentionally not report."

Rokita did not provide any evidence to back up his claims that Bernard has “a history of failing to report" either child abuse or abortions she has performed.

The day after his Fox News appearance, Rokita issued a statement adding federal health privacy laws to his list of concerns. "I will not relent in the pursuit of the truth," he said.

Indiana requires the immediate reporting of suspected child sexual abuse and physicians must report any abortion they perform on someone under age 16 to the state within three days.

Records obtained by IndyStar through a public records request show Bernard reported the 10-year-old's abortion to the Indiana Department of Health and the Department of Child Services within the required time frame. She also indicated the girl was seeking an abortion as a result of being abused.

Police in Columbus, Ohio, have said Franklin County Children Services had already reported the suspected sexual abuse on June 22, five days before Bernard says a child abuse doctor in Ohio first contacted her about providing abortion services for the girl.

Bernard's employer, IU Health, said Friday it conducted an investigation and found no HIPAA violations.

Rokita's actions have prompted criticism from some in the legal community. Seventeen law professors from across Indiana have demanded Rokita retract his comments and apologize to Bernard. A former Indiana University law school dean has also filed a complaint with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, arguing Rokita is unfairly targeting Bernard for political reasons and without any cause.

Rokita has dismissed the criticism and pledged to continue his investigation.

IndyStar first published Bernard's account of the 10-year-old from Ohio who traveled to Indiana to seek abortion services. It quickly went viral and became a talking point for abortion rights supporters, including President Joe Biden. Abortion opponents and some news outlets, however, questioned the veracity of the story.

When Ohio police arrested a 27-year-old man who they say admitted to raping the child, abortion opponents shifted from questioning the story to whether or not Bernard had made the proper disclosures.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news...-rokita-abortion-in-indiana/65377047007/

lol…Dude has criticism and pending litigation confused.

Lol “pretty sure”? We’ve been sure for decades about you GQP scum. We know, that y’all want to control women's reproduction rights. And they don’t give two craps about your two craps. Take no crap, give no craps.

I assume the Attorney General is a lawyer. As a minimum, this is an ethics complaint to the bar association.

He made false statements, he should retract and apologize for his blunder.

I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure Eve (beside being a woman herself, which puts you both on unequal ground for the sake of what you're asserting) is pro choice...

I am indeed prochoice.

Peen, if people like me don't stop this now, we will be living in a version of The Handmaid's Tale very soon. You let these Zealots have an inch and they claim the whole damn mile is theirs to rule. Not going to happen on my watch if I can do ANYTHING at all about it.

She's just in here with her favorite hate terms attacking those that have her back in the pro-choice battle. Could be rabid GOPer brain rot. But she seems to relish it.

Abortion laws dont affect me because I'm in menopause. Its just my belief that no one should force medical decisions on other people. Whether its a forced pregnancy or a forced vaccine.

j/c...

It'll be interesting to follow as more and more cases like the following arise, if individuals, physicians and healthcare systems will begin to sue the State, ultimately hitting the taxpayer in the pocketbook.

In Todays news.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022...-objections-led-by-ohios-jim-jordan.html


I hope some folks have the time to watch this one live on Monday.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022...-during-free-cleveland-event-monday.html

Republicans don't want women getting abortions but they don't want them using birth control either.


House passes bill to protect access to birth control
Melissa Quinn
Thu, July 21, 2022, 9:27 AM·4 min read

Washington — The House on Thursday passed legislation that would protect access to birth control, the latest move in a broader effort by Democrats to enshrine into federal law rights they fear could come under threat by the Supreme Court following its decision to wipe away the constitutional right to an abortion.

The vote was 228-195, with eight Republicans joining every Democrat in voting in favor. All 195 "no" votes came from Republicans.

The Republican members who voted for it were Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Maria Salazar of Florida and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.

The bill, called the Right to Contraption Act, now goes to Senate, where it is unlikely to attract the support of 10 Republicans needed to pass it. The measure would create a statutory right for people to access birth control and protect a range of contraceptive methods, as well as ensure health care providers have a right to provide contraception services to patients.

"We are not willing to play defense on this critically important issue," Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who sponsored the measure, said during a press conference to promote the bill on Wednesday. "We are playing offense."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Republicans of attempting to roll back the clock for American women by curtailing access to birth control, but declared "we are not going back."

"This is their moment. Clarence Thomas has made that clear, right down to the fundamentals of privacy they want to erase," Pelosi said of Republicans. "With this passage, Democrats will make clear we will never quit in the fight against the outrageous right-wing assault on freedom."

The White House supported passage of the plan to protect the right to contraception and said in a statement that access to birth control is "essential to ensuring all people have control over personal decisions about their own health, lives, and families."

Together with a pair of bills that aim to ensure abortion access, which passed the House last week, and a measure that protects same-sex and interracial marriages, the proposal involving access to contraceptive services is Democrats' rejoinder to the Supreme Court's decision last month to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Five conservative justices, including the three members appointed by former President Donald Trump, voted to strike down the near 50-year-old precedent, heightening fears that other court-recognized rights, including same-sex marriage and contraception, could face similar fates.

While Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that "nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate concurring opinion urging his colleagues to reconsider landmark decisions that recognized rights regarding contraception and same-sex relationships.

No other justice joined Thomas, but his opinion, coupled with decisions this term from the court's conservative majority involving the environment, religion, guns and abortion, has prompted Democrats to push back legislatively.

"This rallying call by Justice Thomas and the actions of extremist Republican legislators are about one thing: Control," said Manning, the North Carolina Democrat. "These extremists are working to take away the rights of women, to take away our right to decide when to have children, to take away our right to control our own lives and our own bodies, and we will not let this happen."

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill called the Respect for Marriage Act that would protect marriage equality by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and providing federal protections for same-sex and interracial couples. While the Supreme Court struck down sections of the Clinton-era law with a pair of decisions involving same-sex marriage, it has remained on the books.

The marriage equality legislation passed with support from all House Democrats and 47 Republicans, including Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 3 House Republican, and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Like the measure protecting access to contraceptive services, it's unclear whether the marriage equality bill can win the Republican support needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to say Tuesday whether he plans to support the Respect for Marriage Act, but a growing number of Republicans have signaled plans to vote in favor. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio is co-sponsoring the Senate's version of the measure, his office said, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he "probably will" vote to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into federal law. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also said they favor protecting marriage equality.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he wants to bring the bill to the floor and has spoken with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, about gauging Republicans' support.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-set-vote-bill-protect-132728026.html

Watched a report last night that voluntary sterilization is up 100-200 percent. Women are getting tubes removed and men are getting permanent vasectomies. Living the life in New Gilead.

Don't forget folks

Lawyers aim to educate public on post-Roe v. Wade legal landscape during free Cleveland event Monday.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022...-during-free-cleveland-event-monday.html

Who needs that when you have all these abortion and women's rights experts right here in this thread?

Nobody wants to hear what a lawyer has to say...

Understandable. For most people, you only need to talk to lawyers maybe 3- 4 times in your lifetime. All are negative events.

1. The death of a parent

2. The planning for your own death.

3/4 Some sort of screw-up by you and/or a family member.

If it goes beyond 4, you REALLY don't like lawyers.

Haha, I suppose it can get to the point where you get so jaded. During my short stint doing criminal stuff, I had one frequent flyer who was constantly in jail for small stuff. One time, I went into the jail to speak with someone else and he walked by, smiled and waved and said "Talk to you in a day or two!" I just can't imagine getting to that point.

Or when you want to set up a blind trust after you won a big lottery...... Oh wait, that's not negative.....

That doesn’t reflect your extreme right wing attitude you display here. Voting for team crazy and the clown car gang is a vote for banning abortions, plan and simple. As Madeleine Albright said,” there is a special place in hell for women who hurt other women.”

lol .. and they’re all men.

Eve isn't a man as I understand it.

True, but I did say most people, and was talking about the normal stuff that almost everybody needs to do during their lifetime.

People on both sides who keep claiming untruths.

Oh I forgot about Eve. She’s on team crazy with ya rightie tighties, who only want to protect certain legal rights and forget about all others they don’t agree with, right? Mmmm?

But only the clown car express on the right are against legal abortions even in the case of rape and incest. It’s what you voted for so don’t come back and say you’re ok with legal abortions for cases of race and incest.

Anybody that thinks Post Roe New Gilead will last more than a hot minute is using way too much weed tincture. Christo-fascism will not stand in America. As soon as Trump is eliminated from the political scene, a lot of remorseful GOPers will help the normal thinking left make that happen. This Extreme Court cast of clowns is going to be dealt with too If dems hold the house and get two more senate seats. Either by impeachment or expansion because we can't allow the crazies to control the asylum.

Yep the far right are the only ones against legal abortions in the case of rape and incest.

The far left are the only ones for abortion up until delivery.

The middle of the road or right and left leaning (not the extremists) lay in between, which is the largest number of people.

As far as what you voted for..... get the hell out of here with that crap. It's not my fault that both sides suck.

Blah Blah Blah.... I heard the same things for years around here. Roe V Wade will never be overturned, not gonna happen, your crazy GM, (OK I might give you that one) Never will it happen in our lives GM. Well it happened and those who claimed it never would were wrong.

And the funny thing is that in most cases, it is the same people who are usually wrong about most everything else.

That would be you.

Like I said....

I could see how if the scope of your worldview is limited to the category of "ME ME ME" and the sum of your empathy for others would fit on the head of a pin; you might think that.

Well, GM, you should revel in the moment because the winds of change are blowing, and this entire wannabe Christian Theocracy-driven GOPer movement is being exposed for the desperate and fascist-like crock of crap it is, soon going the way of the dinosaurs. Team (Trumpian) red had to cheat and steal to make it happen because they are an insignificant percentage of the population. There is NO WAY that 30% will rule the other 70% for long, one way or the other. At some point, political common sense OR the majority will eliminate the craziness, undoing all the damage currently being done.

Less than 1% of abortions are late term. Using that rhetoric doesn't work as well as you think it does for anyone who comprehends that fact.

Less than 1% are from rape... that rhetoric has been dripping from these walls since the leak. j/s

Please spare us. The winds of change are nothing more than feelings and thoughts. Let's be honest as to what this all boils down to. As long as Republicans continue to be in power when there comes a need to appoint judges to the SCOTUS these "winds of change" you speak of is nothing more than empty rhetoric. As long as they can get away with blocking Democratic nominees and appoint their own nothing is going to change concerning conservative rulings. That's just the way it is.

I'm fairly sure we agree on most things. Not nearly all but most. So I won't get into the specifics here. But the way the SCOTUS is supposed to work is that public opinion means absolutely nothing. Zilch, zero, nada. It's their job to rule strictly based on their interpretation of the law. The vast majority of Americans agreed with upholding Roe vs Wade but that didn't make any difference. While I disagree with the ruling, what the public thought wasn't supposed to make any difference either. Public opinion and the law are two very different things.

One big difference there. The use of late term abortions is being used as a reason to stop abortions for women who are victims of crimes. In cases of rape and incest, which Republicans are righting laws to prevent in several states, it's about victims of crime not having a choice. Using excuses like "You are for late term abortions" as some excuse why crime victims should have no choice to terminate a pregnancy that was forced on them during the commission of a crime against them is what's going on. And one of the excuses used against abortion is late term abortions.

I understand that many people who wanted roe vs wade overturned did not want such extreme laws in place that wouldn't allow for abortions in cases of incest or rape. But if they didn't understand that was going to happen, shame on them.

Yet only the FAR left support that Just like I said bro.

And isn't that the problem? It's the extremists on both sides that rule the day. You saw it from the far left and now that Roe has been overturned we're seeing it from the far right.