Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made national headlines in 2022 when he criticized a doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio. In doing so, he also violated two rules governing attorney conduct, according to the Indiana Supreme Court.
The high court issued a public reprimand of Rokita on Thursday, saying his comments about Dr. Caitlin Bernard were highly likely to create improper influence and also “had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass or burden the physician.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made national headlines in 2022 when he criticized a doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
In an interview on the Fox News Channel on July 13, 2022, Rokita accused Bernard of being an “abortion activist acting as a doctor — with a history of failing to report.”
The Indiana Department of Health released a document to NPR and other outlets last year, indicating that Bernard had in fact filed an official report stating that she provided a medication-induced abortion to the girl on June 30.
When Bernard testified in that hearing, Deputy Attorney General Cory Voight asked her if “we wouldn’t be sitting here today” had she not spoken to the media about the girl’s case.
But in this instance, the proceeding in question was precipitated by Rokita himself: When the Indiana Medical Licensing Board convened a hearing on Dr. Bernard in May, it did so in response to a complaint from the attorney general’s office.
Of the sworn affidavit in which he admitted to the charges against him, Rokita said he has “evidence and explanation for everything I said,” but he added that he opted to revolve the matter in the interest of saving time and money.
The original article contains 703 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!