Sunday, July 17, 2022

Indiana Doctor Who Disclosed 10-Year-Old’s Abortion Did Not Violate HIPAA: University

Zachary Stieber Jul 16, 2022
An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room at Whole Woman's Health of South Bend in South Bend, Ind., on June 19, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old girl’s fetus and talked about the procedure with the press did not violate privacy laws, her employer said on July 15.

“As part of IU Health’s commitment to patient privacy and compliance with privacy laws, IU Health routinely initiates reviews, including the matters in the news concerning Dr. Caitlin Bernard,” the employer, the Indiana University School of Medicine, told news outlets in a statement.

“IU Health conducted an investigation with the full cooperation of Dr. Bernard and other IU Health team members. IU Health’s investigation found Dr. Bernard in compliance with privacy laws,” it added.

Spokespersons for the university and a lawyer representing Bernard have not responded to requests for comment.

Bernard told the Indianapolis Star in a story dated July 1 that she had a 10-year-old patient who traveled from Ohio for an abortion.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law, prohibits violating a patient’s privacy. HIPAA protects most health information that can be used to individually identify a patient, such as name, address, and birth date.

Indiana law mandates reporting any abortions for girls under the age of 16 and the pregnancies of any girls under the age of 15.

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