Makes My Blood Boil

Indiana’s Medical Licensing Board decided late last night to discipline a doctor who performed an abortion for a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim. The board gave the doctor a letter of reprimand and ordered her to pay a $3,000 fine for violating ethical standards and state laws by discussing the case with a reporter.The Board refused to suspend the doctor’s license as requested by the Indiana State Attorney General because “Dr Bernard is one of the few OB-GYNs in the state who accept Medicaid patients.”

There is so much about this story that makes my blood boil:

1. Fifth grade girls are not equipped physically or emotionally to be mothers. Carrying a baby to term before learning to write cursive may have been OK when the Bubonic Plague was decimating the population, but this is the 21st century. Both the 10 year old mother and the baby will be scarred for life.

2. When this story first came out, the Indiana AG claimed that it was a publicity-seeking fabrication. Then the 27 year old rapist was arrested and confessed.

3. Grasping for straws, the AG then claimed that Dr Bernard failed to report the abortion to her superiors and that she violated patient confidentiality. Dr Bernard proved that she did report it and that she never identified the patient to the press.

4. Still not good enough, the AG pursued the case to the Medical Licensing Board, chock full of wealthy, middle-aged White guys who, of course, can empathize with a 10 year old rape victim. Last night’s reprimand and fine resulted. The AG will have a great campaign ad next time he runs. “He stood up for the Unborn!”

5. Of course, the Board wants to keep Dr Bernard in business. Those doctors don’t want to dirty their hands with Medicaid patients. Do poor women really need OB-GYN care? Who knew?

I used to think that things were so much better for American girls today. Back in 1965, even the brightest female HS graduates were ineligible to enter the military academies, the Ivies (except Cornell and Penn), or even Lafayette and Lehigh. Believe me, that academy ring and fancy diploma really gave a “leg up” in Corporate World. Then the 1970’s saw the academic world open up for women and they could take advantage of it with the Pill and Roe. Is America becoming more like Afghanistan than Western Europe in the 2020’s?

By Ed Dufton