Dr JoePa
A story of a ten-year-old rape victim, who had to cross US state lines to obtain an abortion, ends with the attending doctor being brought up in front of the Indiana Medical Licensing Board for violating patient privacy. But what caught my eye is something that seems to have been given less attention, and that was Dr Caitlin Bernard possibly having obstructed justice.*
The state's Attorney General's office alleged that she failed to immediately report the abuse, in breach of state law.
She testified that she followed her hospital's policy by reporting the patient's abuse to a social worker. "As a physician my role is to provide care for the patient no matter how she winds up in my care, it is not my job to investigate the crime," she said.
Chelsea Bailey, BBC News
Nobody could realistically expect her to investigate the crime; of course it's not her job, and to insinuate otherwise is a disingenuous deflect. But she should be expected to report it to police. Screw policy, and screw social workers; the law is above both. If the victim alleged she was raped, then it has to be investigated by law enforcement; and, by not informing them immediately, the good doctor stood in the way of that.
She'll go down in history alongside JoePa
, as someone who's more concerned about procedure than doing the right thing. (pipe)
* [libel-defence] not a legal challenge, note qualifier: I'm not a lawyer [/libel-defence]