The physician who carried out an abortion for a 10-year-old rape sufferer faces backlash : NPR

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

The heated politics round abortion for the reason that Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade have crystallized in latest weeks within the case of a 10-year-old Ohio woman. Her non-public trauma has grow to be the main target of intense public debate. Here is President Biden’s remarks from July 8.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Simply final week, it was reported {that a} 10-year-old woman was a rape sufferer – 10 years previous – and she or he was compelled to should journey out of the state to Indiana to hunt to terminate the being pregnant and possibly save her life.

RASCOE: Some opponents of abortion rights questioned the story’s veracity till a person was charged with the woman’s rape in Ohio only a few days in the past. Now the physician who carried out the abortion has come beneath assault from a high official in her state. Right here to elucidate is Sarah McCammon, who covers reproductive rights for NPR. Hello, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Good morning.

RASCOE: So inform us about this physician.

MCCAMMON: Effectively, Dr. Caitlin Bernard is an OB-GYN and abortion supplier in Indiana. And her story caught consideration after she informed The Indianapolis Star about offering care to the 10-year-old woman. She was proper round six weeks pregnant when Ohio’s set off ban prohibiting almost all abortions after about six weeks took impact in response to final month’s Supreme Courtroom determination overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, many distinguished conservatives got here after Dr. Bernard to query her credibility. And amongst them was Indiana’s Republican lawyer common, Todd Rokita. On Fox Information, he urged with out offering proof that Bernard had damaged an Indiana regulation that requires docs to report abortion procedures.

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TODD ROKITA: We have now this abortion activist performing as a health care provider with a historical past of failing to report. So we’re gathering the data. We’re gathering the proof as we communicate. And we’ll struggle this to the top.

MCCAMMON: However in actual fact, NPR and different media shops have obtained documentation that Dr. Bernard certainly filed the suitable paperwork on this case. I’ve that report. It is dated July 2. She informed the state she’d supplied a drugs abortion on June 30 for the 10-year-old abuse sufferer who was about six weeks pregnant. In the meantime, the Indiana College Well being System, the place Dr. Bernard is employed, issued a press release on Friday saying they’d performed a assessment into whether or not she’d violated any privateness legal guidelines and located her to be in full compliance.

RASCOE: And the way is Dr. Bernard responding to all of this consideration and these assaults that she’s going through?

MCCAMMON: To date, she’s speaking largely by way of her spokespeople. However on Twitter, she stated that, quote, “My coronary heart breaks for all survivors of sexual assault and abuse. I’m so unhappy that our nation is failing them after they want us most.” She additionally stated she hopes to have the ability to inform her story quickly. On Friday, by way of her lawyer, Dr. Bernard despatched a cease-and-desist letter to Indiana Lawyer Normal Rokita, demanding that he, quote, “please stop and desist from making false and deceptive statements” about her. The letter characterised his statements as defamatory and threatened authorized motion. And, Ayesha, I ought to say that is vital as a result of a spokeswoman has confirmed to NPR that Bernard had confronted threats towards her household previously. And, in fact, different abortion suppliers have confronted violence and even been killed. So these statements are a security concern for her.

RASCOE: Sarah, you simply returned from a reporting journey in Texas. It is a state, like Ohio, with no abortion exception for rape or incest. What is the response to this there?

MCCAMMON: Proper. I spent a while within the Houston space previously few days interviewing people who work for a few organizations that oppose abortion rights and likewise work to assist pregnant ladies and new moms with each materials and emotional assets. One among them, Pam Whitehead, is govt director of a Christian group known as ProLove Ministries that counsels ladies towards abortion. She informed me that whereas this can be a horrific state of affairs and she or he believes the rapist ought to be punished to the fullest extent of the regulation, she additionally stated that her opposition to abortion is absolute.

PAM WHITEHEAD: I believe abortion shouldn’t be an choice for anybody beneath any circumstances. So to reply your query, I believe abortion shouldn’t be authorized in any circumstances – so not simply this circumstance.

RASCOE: So she would not assist abortion even within the lifetime of the mom?

MCCAMMON: She stated she would not consider that is ever vital. In fact, many, many medical specialists would disagree and would say that it’s typically essential to terminate a being pregnant to protect a girl’s well being or life. Curiously, although, one of many ladies I spoke to in Texas at a maternity residence run by Whitehead’s group informed me she’s very involved about this. She stated she herself didn’t need an abortion, and she or he’s grateful for the assistance she’s getting. However she could not perceive how anybody may ask a 10-year-old woman to undergo with a being pregnant or be a father or mother.

RASCOE: What does this case that we have been speaking about inform us concerning the authorized battlegrounds which might be taking form after Roe?

MCCAMMON: Effectively, there are battles happening at each stage of presidency over this subject. You see battle between completely different state legal guidelines, completely different insurance policies relying on the place you reside. We might even see extra makes an attempt by Republican officers to go after abortion suppliers, for instance. And we’re seeing state and federal battle, as nicely. This week, the Biden administration tried to make clear protections for well being care suppliers, particularly those that present abortions or different reproductive well being care in emergency conditions. And in response to that, Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration. So we’re seeing officers who oppose abortion rights persevering with to attempt in a number of methods to limit it.

RASCOE: That is NPR’s Sarah McCammon, who covers reproductive rights. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us.

MCCAMMON: Thanks.

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