Todd Rokita, the Republican attorney general of Indiana, told Fox News on Wednesday that his office plans to investigate the doctor of a 10-year-old rape victim.
Indiana-based Dr. Caitlin Bernard has told several outlets she performed the procedure on the young girl, who traveled from Ohio to get an abortion after she was allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant, according to the New York Post.
Abortion in Indiana is prohibited after 22 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies relating to the mother or the fetus, Politico noted.
Ohio's laws stipulate that abortion is banned after six weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Still, failing to report the procedure in both states is a crime, especially when rape claims are involved.
"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. And in Indiana, it's a crime … to intentionally not report," Rokita stated on the network.
"This is a child, and there's a strong public interest in understanding if someone under the age of 16 or under the age of 18 or really any woman is having [an] abortion in our state," he added.
Rokita then sent a letter to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, calling for the state's health and child service departments to determine whether Bernard reported the abortion within the three-day window required.
Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, also a Republican, told Fox on Monday that he was unaware of evidence that a report was filed for the young girl's abortion case.
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