Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been charged with three counts of attorney misconduct by the Disciplinary Commission of the Indiana Supreme Court. The focus of the disciplinary complaint is on Rokita’s comments about an investigation into a medication abortion performed by Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis OB/GYN, on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio in June 2022.
According to the Indiana Code § 25-1-7-10(a), complaints and information pertaining to the complaints must be held in ‘strict confidence’ until the Attorney General files notice to prosecute the licensee with the Medical Licensing Board. The Attorney General, however, did not file a complaint against Dr. Bernard until November 2022.
The Disciplinary Commission alleges that by publicly discussing the investigation, Rokita breached these state confidentiality requirements, causing “irreparable harm” to Dr. Bernard’s professional reputation and creating additional difficulties for the Medical Licensing Board to manage. The commission maintains that appropriate discipline for Rokita’s alleged professional misconduct is required.
Earlier in June 2023, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana censored Dr. Bernard for violating patient privacy laws by discussing the procedure with local media, imposing a fine of $3,000. Rokita recently sued Indiana University Health, the state’s largest health network for backing Dr. Bernard. The lawsuit suggests that the hospital favored its own interests and that of the doctor over patient protection.
In response to the complaint, Rokita released a public statement, promising to defend Indiana’s privacy laws steadfastly.