Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the Indiana doctor who provided abortion services for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio, stated in a legal filing that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made false and defamatory claims about her and the medical care she provides during an appearances on Fox News host Jesse Watters’ program. Several conservative media outlets and figures, most notably Watters himself, have also made such claims.
On July 19, an attorney for Bernard sent out a legal notice to Rokita so the state of Indiana can investigate or settle her claim that the attorney general began defaming her in a July 13 appearance on Watters’ Fox program. The notice alleges that Rokita defamed her by portraying her as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor” and that she has “a history of failing to report” abortions and/or child abuse cases. The legal notice also cited a July 14 statement from Rokita posted to the Indiana government’s website suggesting that Bernard had violated privacy laws by committing “a HIPAA violation.”
Bernard’s evidence refuting all three accusations are available in the legal notice, but local news organizations have also explained that she did report the abortion and that her employer conducted an investigation and determined she is “in compliance with privacy laws.”
Conservative media outlets and a Washington Post column spread doubt about the existence of the abortion case, which conservative media ultimately cited. Right-wing media outlets were making similar accusations both before and after Rokita’s Fox interview, at times citing the attorney general. The National Review’s article, which cited the Post piece and further sowed doubt about the case’s existence, has remained up despite slight corrections admitting that the abortion took place.
Wash. Post’s Glenn Kessler and conservative media labeled Dr. Bernard an “activist”
In an email to Nieman Journalism Lab editor Laura Hazard Owen, the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler described Bernard as “someone who was an activist in one side of the debate.” [NiemanLab, 7/13/22]
One America News Network’s Kara McKinny labeled Bernard “a notorious abortion activist.” [OAN, Tipping Point, 7/12/22]
New York Post: “Activist tale of a 10-year-old rape victim’s abortion looks like a lie.” In its original headline, a New York Post article by Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley described Bernard as an “activist.” The headline was later changed. [The Internet Archive, accessed 7/21/22; New York Post, 7/12/22]
Conservative media also claimed that Bernard has a history of violating reporting requirements
Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed on July 13, prior to interviewing Rokita, that Bernard “has a history of failing to report child abuse cases.” [Media Matters, 7/15/22]
An on-screen graphic during Watters’ program showed an image of Bernard with the question underneath: “Failure to report?”
