One sec giving comments regarding his executive order on abortion, President Joe Biden on Friday spoke passionately about a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion. How fact checkers from the Washington Post, but this claim may not be as credible as the president thinks.
At one point in his remarks, Biden mentioned that some state laws do not include rape or incest exceptions when it comes to abortion bans.
“This isn’t some made-up horror story. It’s already happening,” Biden said. “Just last week it was reported that a 10-year-old girl in Ohio was raped – she was 10 – and forced to travel out of state to Indiana to attempt an abortion,” which sounded like he said “presidency” instead of “pregnancy.” .
Biden also acknowledged that he expressed “my assessment,” saying that an abortion “maybe save her life.”
While White House press conference the same day, a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “has the White House confirmed that local law enforcement knows the identity of this 10-year-old victim?” And has the President directed the Department of Justice to do everything in its power” Can a perpetrator of violence be prosecuted and protected?”
“I have nothing more to say about the identity of this young woman or the question you asked me,” she told the reporter as part of her response.
While episode from July 3 CNN’s “State of the Union” host Dana Bash questioned Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) about her own state abortion ban, which has exceptions for the life of the mother. Governor Noem expressed horror at the reported rape and emphasized throughout her statement that an investigation should be launched.
Bash noted that the report came from Indianapolis Startitled “Patients Head to Indiana for Abortion Services as Other States Restrict Care.” This report was first published on July 1. Since then, it has been in the press. In reprint for Sending Columbusthe article is titled “As Ohio Restricts Abortion, 10-Year-Old Girl Goes to Indiana for Procedure.”
The report mentioned Dr. Caitlin Bernard, “an Indianapolis obstetrician and gynecologist,” who “received a call from a colleague, a pediatric physician in Ohio.” Coincidentally, that call came three days after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its ruling Dobbs v. Jacksonwho fell over Roe v. Wade, thus sending the abortion decision back to the states. The 10-year-old was reportedly six weeks and three days pregnant. Ohio bans abortions once a heartbeat is detected, usually after about six weeks. There are exceptions that are intended to save the mother’s life or seriously harm her physical health.
The report mentioned that the 10-year-old “was soon on her way to Indiana to be placed in Bernard’s care.”
Kessler highlighted one source in his fact-checking:
The only source cited for the anecdote was Bernard. She is on file, but there is no indication that the newspaper made any other attempts to confirm her account. The story’s lead reporter, Shari Rudavsky, did not respond to a question about whether additional sources had been obtained. A Gannett spokeswoman provided comment Kryft Bridgenewspaper editor-in-chief: “The facts and sources of information about people crossing state lines into Indiana, including a 10-year-old girl, for abortions are clear. We have no additional comments at this time.”
He also pointed out the mandatory registration in Ohio, which makes this story even more damning:
Under Ohio law, a physician as a mandated reporter under s Ohio Revised Code 2151.421will be required to report any known or suspected incidents of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or child neglect to local child welfare or law enforcement authorities. Therefore, Bernard’s friend would have had to make such a report to law enforcement at the same time he contacted Bernard. A criminal case would probably then be initiated.
Bernard refused to allow a fact checker to provide information about her friend or the city where the child was located. “Thank you for contacting me. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any information to share,” she wrote in an email.
Dan Tierney, press secretary for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), said the governor’s office was not aware of any specific case but said under the state’s decentralized system, registration would be handled at the local level. Therefore, he said, it would be difficult to confirm the report without knowing the local jurisdiction that could narrow the search. He added: “The rape of a ten-year-old would certainly be newsworthy.”
As part of our on-site review, we contacted child welfare agencies in some of Ohio’s most populous cities, including Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo. None of the officials we contacted were aware of such a case in their area.
DeWine, asked about the report Wednesday, called it a tragedy and said the doctor in question likely reported it to law enforcement. “Of course we have a rapist there.” – he told reporters. “We have someone who is dangerous and we have someone who needs to be caught and locked up forever.”
Abortion by a 10-year-old is quite uncommon. Sending Columbus reported that in 2020, 52 people under the age of 15 had abortions in Ohio.
Kessler then mentions in “The Bottom Line” how challenging it is to verify this story.
“This is a very challenging story to verify. Bernard is on file, but obtaining documents or other confirmation is almost impossible without details that would allow identifying the town where the rape occurred,” he writes. “Yet, thanks to global news coverage and now the president’s imprimatur, the story has gained the status of ‘fact’ regardless of its origins. If a rapist is ever accused, this fact will finally have a more solid basis,” he concludes. With.
Kessler doesn’t appear to be passing judgment on Biden’s claims. Writing for NewsBustersTim Graham emphasized that Kessler only “MILDLY insulted Biden” in his claims.
“If Donald Trump picked up a story like this, Kessler would assign Pinocchio. As usual, there was no Pinocchio for Biden, and his “presidential imprimatur” approach to this perhaps mythical event is so bland that it could be interpreted as “Oh, it’s a fact now,” Graham insists.
AND pinned tweet as of July 5, PJ Media’s Megan Fox engaged in a much deeper thread, pointing out holes in Dr. Bernard’s claims.
Fox emphasizes the time in which this story occurred, as well as the fact that Dr. Bernard has no sources to point to. Fox also highlights how such a heinous crime would be reported. She further indicated that “it was immediately used as a political weapon against Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and will be used against other pro-life politicians to force them to respond to this possibly hypothetical or made-up scenario and gain political life points” – one comes from Jennifer Rubin.
Perhaps the most damning tweet Fox points to New York Times article on Dr. Bernardhighlighting her pro-abortion crusade as the person leading it. She also couldn’t be pressed any further for details.
?? #7 There is no way to verify Bernard’s claim. He has medical confidentiality regarding the patient. No one can FOIA her. The media won’t ask any questions, and even if they did, she wouldn’t answer. There is no evidence that this 10-year-old even exists, and yet the media has been whispering about it at full speed.
— Megan Fox (@MeganFoxWriter) July 5, 2022
Fox, writing for PJ Media, noted: “WaPo Was Late to the Fact-Checking Party ’10-Year-Old Rape Victim’ Abortion Story Based on Poor Sources — BUT Proves We Were Right”
Even more damning of Dr. Bernard’s claims is Fox’s reported on Monday that she was accused of failing to report the abortion of minors. “In 2018, Indiana Right to Life audited publicly recorded pregnancy termination reports and found that nine abortion providers allegedly failed to report minor abortions to the health department as required by law. Bernard was one of them– Fox reports.
It’s worth emphasizing that not only will Republicans and pro-lifers be attacked over a story that may not even be true, but also that abortion in cases of rape is extremely rare. AND learn from The Guttmacher Institute found that 1 percent of abortions are the result of rape and less than 0.5 percent are the result of incest.
