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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEditor’s note: This article has been updated with a comment from the Office of the Indiana Attorney General.
The Indianapolis lawyer representing the Hoosier doctor who performed an abortion for a 10-year-old Ohio girl is claiming that the office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent her client six bogus consumer complaints and that the state’s top legal official is trying to intimidate the physician via his office.
In a prepared statement Thursday evening, attorney Kathleen DeLaney of DeLaney & DeLaney LLC said Rokita’s office sent six separate letters to Dr. Caitlin Bernard on Tuesday “initiating investigations of ‘consumer complaint’ forms.”
“Each complaint form confirms that the person had no interaction with Dr. Bernard,” DeLaney’s statement says. “The six complaints came from individuals who are residents of California, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and one from Indiana. None of the complaints came from a ‘consumer’ who purchased any goods or services from Dr. Bernard or even from a person who has had direct communication with Dr. Bernard.”
Indiana Lawyer has requested but has not received copies of the letters and thus cannot confirm their existence or contents.
DeLaney said the complaints were “riddled with inaccuracies and rely on no first-hand knowledge.”
“For example, one of the complaints lists a phone number for Dr. Bernard as 555-555-5555. At least one of the six people submitting a complaint has a significant criminal history,” she wrote. “… Unfortunately, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita continues to use his office to try and intimidate Dr. Caitlin Bernard. We urge Mr. Rokita to stop wasting taxpayer money and our time on his nonsensical campaign against Dr. Bernard for doing her job as a physician properly and in accordance with the law.”
On Wednesday, DeLaney told media she was reviewing materials sent by Rokita’s office but did not specify what those documents were.
In a statement emailed to Indiana Lawyer on Thursday evening, a spokeswoman for Rokita’s office said, “The Attorney General’s office investigates a variety of consumer complaints across the Consumer Protection Division, which is a large division within the office. We don’t discuss the details of investigations.”
Rokita has openly questioned Bernard’s reporting since the story of the abortion procedure, originally reported by the Indianapolis Star, became a flashpoint in the national abortion debate.
Indiana’s Republican attorney general sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb on July 13 saying he was investigating whether the doctor had failed to report the sexual assault of a minor to state authorities.
Some media outlets, like The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, also questioned the veracity of the story.
However, on July 14, a day after Rokita went on Fox News and questioned Bernard and the story, multiple media outlets published copies of the pregnancy termination report confirming she had reported the abortion two days after it took place. Bernard’s employer, IU Health, has also released a statement saying she complied with privacy laws.
On Monday, the man charged with raping the child, 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes, pleaded not guilty.
Despite the documents, Rokita has maintained his office is investigating Bernard.
Last week, DeLaney filed a tort claim notice against Rokita alleging “ongoing” harm that Bernard has endured due to “false and misleading” statements. If Rokita doesn’t respond within 90 days, the claim would be deemed denied and Bernard could file a defamation lawsuit.
On Wednesday, DeLaney said she and her client were “continuing to explore legal remedies to hold Rokita accountable for his conduct.”
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