Indiana attorney general sues hospital over 10-year-old rape victim’s abortion

Todd Rokita claims Indiana University Health wrongly said doctor had not violated patient privacy laws in public comments

Indiana's attorney general, Todd Rokita, is suing the largest hospital system in the state, alleging the mishandling of a case involving a 10-year-old rape victim who got an abortion through one of its doctors - a case that made headlines across the country in the days after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade.

In a lawsuit filed on Friday, Rokita alleged that Indiana University Health wrongly said that Dr Caitlin Bernard, who talked about the 10-year-old's case to journalists, had not violated patient privacy laws. Indiana University Health had told media outlets that, after reviewing Bernard's case, it had determined that she had been in compliance with privacy laws", according to the lawsuit. However, the Indiana Medical Licensing Board later found that Bernard had broken patient privacy laws. (The board also concluded that she was fit to practice medicine.)