General Discussion

Nevilledog

(51,201 posts) Sat Jul 16, 2022, 01:10 PM Jul 2022

"Dr. Caitlin Bernard Was Meant to Write This With Me Before She Was Attacked for Doing Her Job"

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/opinion/doctors-roe-v-wade-ohio-10-year-old.html

No paywall
https://archive.ph/XPn4R

Earlier this week I was preparing to write a guest essay with my colleague, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an ob-gyn here in Indiana. We wanted to write about the chilling effect that the overturning of Roe v. Wade has had on medicine in our state and around the country in just a few short weeks. But then Dr. Bernard became a target of a national smear campaign for speaking out about her 10-year-old patient, a rape victim from Ohio who needed an abortion and had to travel to Indiana to receive one, given the restrictions in her home state.

On Wednesday night, our state’s attorney general said his office would be investigating Dr. Bernard. So I’m writing this essay myself, not only to bring attention to the chilling effect on medicine we’re seeing at this moment — but also because I’m terrified that I or any one of our colleagues could soon face what Dr. Bernard is going through after delivering care to our patients.

When we talk about the importance of reproductive health care in the lives of our patients, we often weave in patient stories to humanize the often complex legal and medical concepts for the audience. Dr. Bernard told the story of her patient from Ohio as an example of how abortion bans can impact the most vulnerable.

The attacks on her were instantaneous and fierce. Multiple state attorneys general and high-profile conservatives suggested that Dr. Bernard was a liar. Pundits questioned her integrity, and articles in numerous news outlets cast doubt on the story, with The Wall Street Journal editorial board declaring it a “fanciful tale” that was “too good to confirm.”

*snip*