Pirate's Cove

I’ve mentioned before, there’s an old axiom about reading newspapers: you have to get your point out in 3 paragraphs or 30 seconds, and this has carried through to the Internet. It might be less now, with them working to get their message in the headline and first two paragraphs

Republican AG says he’ll investigate Indiana doctor who provided care to 10-year-old rape victim

Indiana’s Republican attorney general said on Wednesday that his office planned to investigate the Indiana doctor who helped a 10-year-old rape victim who crossed state lines to have an abortion.

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, has told multiple outlets that she provided care to the 10-year-old after a child abuse doctor in Ohio contacted her. The child was six weeks and three days into the pregnancy, Bernard said. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, a wave of state-level abortion restrictions took effect, including in Ohio, a state that bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Abortion in Indiana is banned after 22 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions for medical emergencies.

Now, that looks like AG Todd Rokita is going after the doctor for doing the abortion, right? The Yahoo News reprint of the Politico piece, where I first saw it, shows that abortion supporters are not reading the whole thing

• I don’t see the need for any such investigation, unless there is reason to suspect medical malpractice. For a child in such a situation, competent medical treatment is required.
• It isn’t about malpractice. It is about intimidation to deny women agency over their own bodies. These laws won’t prevent all abortions, they only prevent abortions for those without the income to travel abroad. And that is exactly what is intended.
• Pandering to the ‘base’. Nothing more.
• Why are we going backwards with woman’s rights?
• The investigation is clearly punishment because the doctor failed to come under the authority of the conservative Christian Church. A 10-year-old being physically damaged for carrying a pregnancy to term doesn’t seem to concern them.

Many, many, many more like that. What’s the reality? Well, paragraph 3

“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. And in Indiana it’s a crime … to intentionally not report,” state Attorney General Todd Rokita said on Fox News on Wednesday night. “This is a child, and there’s a strong public interest in understanding if someone under the age of 16 or under the age of 18 or really any woman is having abortion in our state. And then if a child is being sexually abused, of course parents need to know. Authorities need to know. Public policy experts need to know.”

There are strict reporting requirements in both Ohio and Indiana for abortions and rape allegations. Rokita doubled down on his threats of criminal charges in a letter dated Wednesday but released publicly on Thursday. The letter, to Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, called for records from the Indiana Department of Public Health and the Department of Child Services to determine whether Bernard filed a report within the required three-day window.

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

And that is what the investigation is about, whether the doctor performed her legal requirement to report that a minor required an abortion, which means statutory rape occurred. Why do Democrats not want rape reported? They’ve spent the past 10 years making a big deal about sexual assault (especially as it has occurred in Democrat run Hollywood and colleges) and report it. But, not with a 10 year old?

And, it makes no difference that it supposedly had been reported to Ohio law enforcement, the abortion occurred in Indiana, and the law is the law.

Now, Indystar, who started this whole thing with their light on details and journalism report, is saying that

The Indiana physician who provided abortion services to a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped disclosed the abortion in a form filed with the Indiana Department of Health and the Department of Child Services, according to documents obtained by IndyStar through a public records request.  (big snip)

Bernard filed the required abortion disclosure, known as a “terminated pregnancy” form, on July 2, two days after she performed the girl’s abortion, according to a copy of the form IndyStar received Thursday from the state health department. State law requires the forms to be filed within three days for patients under age 16.

The form shows Bernard indicated the girl was seeking an abortion as a result of being abused.

A form Indystar did not share. And might not legally have had access to.

The form indicates the doctor did not know the age of the “father.” In such cases, doctors are required to enter an “approximate age,” according to a person familiar with the electronic filing system. Bernard entered “17.”

Um, the girl was 10. She should have really been calling the police. But, abortion supporters will do anything to protect abortion, even if it involves mostly ignoring a 10 year old being pregnant, which is called felony rape of a minor under 13, as the 27 year old illegal alien was charged with.