‘Not a whisper’ of evidence to show 10-year-old Ohio rape victim got abortion in Indiana: AG Yost tells FOX News
President Biden talked about the reported abortion on July 8.
Update: The day after this story was published, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced a suspect confessed and was arrested for the rape of the victim.
>> Man confesses to rape of 10-year-old who went to Indiana for abortion: Ohio AG says <<
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says there is “not a whisper” of evidence to backup a story that claims a 10-year-old Ohio girl who became pregnant after she was raped had to go to Indiana to get an abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Yost appeared on FOX News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” Monday to discuss the story that captured national headlines and was mentioned by President Joe Biden during an executive order signing on abortion access.
The story Biden refers to was published by the Indianapolis Star on July 1 with the headline, “Patients head to Indiana for abortion services as other states restrict care.”
Written by Shari Rudavsky and Rachel Fradette, the story sources Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist.
The report claims Bernard got a call from a child abuse doctor in Ohio, saying she had a 10-year-old patient who was six weeks and three days pregnant. In Ohio, abortions are banned after the first six weeks of pregnancy.
The July 1 story said, “the girl soon was on her way to Indiana to Bernard’s care.”
Attorney General Yost explained to Watters on Monday that a case like the one reported by the IndyStar would have launched an immediate investigation.
Yost said, “There is no case request for analysis that looks anything like this.”
Watters asked Yost if it is against the law in Ohio for a doctor, like the one referenced by the IndyStar, not to report a child rape case to police.
The Ohio attorney general says yes, that would be against the law, and the Ohio doctor would be prosecuted for not reporting the rape.
According to Fox News, Gov. Mike DeWine’s office said there is no criminal investigation they found related to the rape and pregnancy of the 10-year-old Ohio girl.
Washington Post Fact Checkers say they reached out to Rudavsky to ask if she had additional sources outside of Dr. Bernard to confirm the July 1 story. The Washington Post says Rudavsky did not respond to their request.
The Washington Post did say a Gannett spokeswoman provided a comment from IndyStar Executive Director Bro Krift: “The facts and sourcing about people crossing state lines into Indiana, including the 10-year-old girl, for abortions are clear. We have no additional comment at this time.”
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