Editor’s Note: This story includes mention of sexual violence or assault. Resources are available here.
Indiana Atorney General Todd Rokita’s office dropped a lawsuit against IU Health after a federal judge accepted a dismissal motion filed Aug. 7 by the office.
Rokita’s office filed the lawsuit in September 2023 and claimed IU Health did not enforce privacy laws regarding Caitlin Bernard’s, an IU Health OB-GYN and assistant professor at the IU School of Medicine, disclosure to the Indianapolis Star that she provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim. They also claimed that IU Health failed to properly report, review and enforce HIPAA and Indiana law violations.
“This is a win for patients, but also for the group's 36,000 health care providers who can now trust they've received accurate training that is consistent with HIPAA privacy laws and Indiana patient confidentiality rules,” Attorney General Rokita said in a statement. “One of my office’s main priorities is to protect patient privacy because when it’s not, we no longer have reliable, honest healthcare."
According to the dismissal, the AG office was able to confirm that IU Health has taken the necessary actions to protect patients of their medical privacy. The necessary actions included training employees to avoid talking about patients in public areas, inform employees that they are required to notify public relations staff if contacted by a reporter and conduct employee training on Protected Health Information.
History of Bernard’s case
On July 1, 2022, Bernard told the Indianapolis Star she was going to perform an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio, just three days after the Supreme Court issued a ruling to overturn nationwide abortion protections established by Roe v. Wade. The child was over six weeks pregnant. At the time, Ohio prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Ohio’s law nearly banning all abortions is now invalid following a referendum.
At the time, abortion in Indiana allowed for abortions within six weeks. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a near-total abortion ban does not violate the Indiana Constitution June 30, 2023. Indiana lawmakers passed the near-total ban on Aug.5, 2023, and makes exceptions for abortions in hospitals in select cases, such as rape or incest, to protect the life or physical health of the mother, or when the fetus is diagnosed with fetal or neonatal death.
On July 13, 2022 Gerson Fuentes from Columbus, Ohio, confessed to police he raped the 10-year-old on at least two occasions. Fuentes was arrested and charged with rape.
Shortly after the arrest and confirmation of the abortion, Rokita went on Fox News and said he was looking into Bernard's record. Rokita said that if Bernard failed to report the abortion, it would be a crime. An Indiana doctor who performs an abortion on someone under 16 must report the procedure within three days, according to the Indiana Health Department. Rokita also claimed that Bernard had a history of not reporting abortions but did not provide evidence.
Later that week, Indianapolis Star received documents from the Indiana Health Department confirming Bernard reported the procedure on time.
Following Rokita’s appearance on Fox News, an attorney for Bernard wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Rokita claiming his comments were false and defamatory.
Accusations then began to spread through the public that Bernard did not complie with Indiana’s state and patient privacy laws according to Indiana Public Radio. Indiana patient privacy laws states that only the patient, authorized representative or an authorized health case worker have access to medical cases.
This led to an IU Health investigation that found Bernard complied with all patient privacy laws. Rokita told Indiana Public Radio that he was still investigating the matter.
In a written complaint filed Nov. 30, 2022, Rokita asked the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to impose a displinary action on Bernard, alleging she violated patient privacy laws. Shortly after, Bernard filed a lawsuit against Rokita to prevent him from accessing patient medical records and investigating her based on consumer complaints of people that were not Bernards patients or reside outside of Indiana.
On Dec. 5, 2022, Marion County judge Heather Welch ruled Rokita violated confidentially laws by publicly discussing the investigation on Fox News before his office officially filed a complaint. Welch denied Bernard's request to stop the investigation because it was no longer in control by Rokita, but rather the Indiana Medical Licensing Board. Bernard dropped the lawsuit against Rokita Dec. 8, 2022, but released a statement defending her actions.
“I am hopeful that my example shows how important it is for medical providers to be brave advocates and speak up when needed,” Bernard said in the statement.
Rokita then challenged Welch’s ruling April 11, 2023, that Rokita violated the state law by discussing Bernard's case before filing an official complaint. Rokita’s lawyers argued the ruling could affect public perception of Rokita. Rokita dropped the challenge April 24, 2023.
In May 2023, Indiana's Medical Licensing Board determined in a 4-1 vote that Bernard violated Indiana privacy rules for telling an Indianapolis Star reporter that she would provide an abortion to a patient. The board voted to fine Benard $3,000 but did not suspend her license. In a unanimous vote, the board also ruled against Rokita’s complaint that Bernard failed to report the claim and was unfit to practice.
In September 2023, Rokita filed the now-dropped federal lawsuit against IU Health and IU Healthcare Associates. The lawsuit alleged that IU Health and IU Healthcare Associates inappropriately supported the doctor rather than the patient and that they did not properly investigate Bernard's actions. It also alleged that IU Health failed to properly report, review and enforce HIPAA and Indiana law violations.
On Nov. 2 2023, Rokita was reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court for committing “professional misconduct” for the comments he made on Fox News about Bernard. Rokita referred to Bernard as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor – with a history of failing to report.”
A list of resources is available here if you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment or abuse.
