An Indiana judge has rejected a doctor’s request to limit an investigation into her carrying out an abortion for a 10-year-old, while also finding that the state’s attorney general violated the law.
Bernard asked the Marion County Superior Court to stop Rokita from investigating “invalid consumer complaints” against her and her co-plaintiff, Dr. Amy Caldwell. But in the new order, Marion County Judge Heather Welch rejected the request.
Caldwell no longer has standing because the state investigation into her has already been closed, Welch said. And while Bernard was correct that Rokita violated a confidentiality provision in the law regarding investigating consumer complaints, she didn’t prove other factors that are required to impose a preliminary injunction, Welch ruled.
Both sides claimed victory.
“This is a win for patient privacy rights in the practice of medicine and for properly reporting child abuse,“ Rokita said in a statement, ”but for the doctor’s violation of her patient’s privacy by going to the news media, this story would have never been publicized.”
More on the Ruling
Bernard had argued that state law governing consumer complaints meant the attorney general’s office needed to make an initial determination for each complaint it receives and that it can only investigate complaints that have merit and indicate a violation of the law.She also said that she’s suffering irreparable harm from Rokita’s investigation and statements.
Welch said the doctor’s complaint misstated the law and that the attorney general’s office didn’t have to make a merit determination before starting investigations.
“While some of the consumer complaints appeared more meritorious than others on their face, the statute permits the Director and Division to investigate them all the same before coming to any conclusion,” the judge said.
Welch also said that Bernard hadn’t met the burden of showing irreparable harm arising from the investigation. The judge, did, however, find that the burden was met, based on Rokita’s public statements.
Confidentiality Violation
Indiana law requires the attorney general’s office not to disclose any information about an investigation, with limited exceptions. Defendants haven’t established that the exceptions applied in the case, so no public disclosure should’ve been made, Welch concluded.Rokita disclosed the investigations into Bernard on July 13 during an appearance on Fox News, saying in part: “And then we have this abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report. So, we’re gathering the information. We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure. If she failed to report it in Indiana, it’s a crime for—to not report, to intentionally not report.”
The reporter initially overheard Bernard speaking about the matter with another doctor and later approached Bernard to confirm the account, according to court papers.
Rokita later made other public statements about the case.
Defendants argued that Bernard speaking about the matter enabled them to, but the law doesn’t support that claim, according to the ruling.
Referral
Rokita’s office in late November referred the case to the state licensing board.That means the court couldn’t conclude that the defendants remain in violation of the confidentiality provision.
Because of the referral, “the Court no longer has jurisdiction to make any factual findings over these ultimate questions, even for the purposes of a preliminary order,” Welch said.
The judge rejected the request for a preliminary injunction but noted the ruling isn’t on the merits of the case, which is still ongoing.
Marion County Judge James Joven is set to take over the case after Welch granted a request from Rokita for a special judge.