Posted on Jun 4, 2023
Doctors rally to defend abortion provider Caitlin Bernard after she was censured
522
20
4
7
7
0
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/03/ [login to see] /abortion-caitlin-bernard-indiana-doctor-medical-board
Hundreds of Indiana doctors are coming to the defense of Caitlin Bernard, the obstetrician/gynecologist who was recently punished by a state licensing board for talking publicly about providing an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim.
Hundreds of Indiana doctors are coming to the defense of Caitlin Bernard, the obstetrician/gynecologist who was recently punished by a state licensing board for talking publicly about providing an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim.
Doctors rally to defend abortion provider Caitlin Bernard after she was censured
Posted from npr.org
Abortion
Medical
Health
Sexual Assault
Posted 12 mo ago
Responses: 3
5
5
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
(5)
(0)
4
4
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel she broke an important rule in health care: keep the patients personal information confidential.
(4)
(0)
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Another doctor who signed the letter, Anita Joshi, is a pediatrician in the small town of Crawfordsville, Ind. She says speaking in general terms about the kinds of cases she's seeing is often part of helping her patients understand potential health risks.
"I very often will say to a mom who is, for example, hesitant about giving their child a vaccine, 'Well, you know, we have had a 10-year-old who has had mumps in this practice,' " Joshi says.
But now she worries she could get into trouble for those kinds of conversations.
So does Bernard Richard, a family medicine doctor outside Indianapolis. He says it's part of his job to educate the public, just like Dr. Caitlin Bernard did.
"Due to this incident, I had patients who said to me, 'I had no idea that someone could even get pregnant at the age of 10,' " Richard says. "You can easily see how that might be important when someone is making decisions about controversial issues such as abortion. This information matters."
Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, who teaches pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, shares that concern.
"These stories are devastating. They're heartbreaking. I wish that they never existed, but they do," Wilkinson says. "And I think part of the public's lack of belief that this could happen, or did happen, is because there's not enough people talking about it."
Wilkinson, who describes herself as a "dear friend" of Dr. Bernard, signed Yeleti's open letter. She also co-wrote an opinion piece published in Stat News by founding members of the Good Trouble Coalition, an advocacy group for healthcare providers.
The coalition issued its own statement supporting Bernard, and noting that the American Medical Association code of ethics says doctors should "seek change" when laws and policies are against their patients' best interests.
"As a physician in Indiana, everybody is scared. Everybody is upset," Wilkinson says. "Everybody is wondering if they could be next."
..."Another doctor who signed the letter, Anita Joshi, is a pediatrician in the small town of Crawfordsville, Ind. She says speaking in general terms about the kinds of cases she's seeing is often part of helping her patients understand potential health risks.
"I very often will say to a mom who is, for example, hesitant about giving their child a vaccine, 'Well, you know, we have had a 10-year-old who has had mumps in this practice,' " Joshi says.
But now she worries she could get into trouble for those kinds of conversations.
So does Bernard Richard, a family medicine doctor outside Indianapolis. He says it's part of his job to educate the public, just like Dr. Caitlin Bernard did.
"Due to this incident, I had patients who said to me, 'I had no idea that someone could even get pregnant at the age of 10,' " Richard says. "You can easily see how that might be important when someone is making decisions about controversial issues such as abortion. This information matters."
Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, who teaches pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, shares that concern.
"These stories are devastating. They're heartbreaking. I wish that they never existed, but they do," Wilkinson says. "And I think part of the public's lack of belief that this could happen, or did happen, is because there's not enough people talking about it."
Wilkinson, who describes herself as a "dear friend" of Dr. Bernard, signed Yeleti's open letter. She also co-wrote an opinion piece published in Stat News by founding members of the Good Trouble Coalition, an advocacy group for healthcare providers.
The coalition issued its own statement supporting Bernard, and noting that the American Medical Association code of ethics says doctors should "seek change" when laws and policies are against their patients' best interests.
"As a physician in Indiana, everybody is scared. Everybody is upset," Wilkinson says. "Everybody is wondering if they could be next."
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google