Update: About an hour after this article was published, news accounts began appearing from IndyStar and other sources saying that a man was charged with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl who went to Indiana for an abortion. In light of this new development, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is quoted in the article below as saying earlier in the week that he had heard “not a whisper” about the alleged rape, today issued a statement saying, “We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets.” For more information on this case, see our later article Illegal Alien Arrested in Rape of 10-year-old in Ohio Who Went to Indiana for Abortion.
Did a 10-year-old rape victim travel from Ohio to Indiana to obtain an abortion after her home state banned most abortions? Most major media and even the president of the United States seem to believe so, but The Washington Post found that there is precious little evidence to support the claim.
The story of the young rape victim began as an anecdote in a July 1 Indianapolis Star article on women — or, as the Gannett-owned paper would have it, “pregnant people” — who were traveling to Indiana to procure abortions after their own states restricted the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
According to the Star, on June 27, Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who also performs abortions, was contacted by “a child abuse doctor in Ohio” claiming to have “a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant.” The newspaper did not state that the girl had been raped, though presumably that is the reason she was seeing the child-abuse doctor.
Thanks to a 2019 Ohio law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which the courts only allowed to take effect post-Dobbs, the girl could not obtain an abortion in the Buckeye State, so she was taken to Indianapolis, where Bernard killed the unborn child — or so the story goes.
The 10-year-old’s alleged plight fit the pro-abortion narrative so perfectly — heartless Republicans forcing a child-rape victim to travel long distances to abort a baby she should never have conceived — that it spread like wildfire through the media. Outlets as varied as The Hill, The Jerusalem Post, and Bangladesh Weekly repackaged the anecdote without bothering to verify its veracity. CNN grilled South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem about it. President Joe Biden cited it when signing a pro-abortion executive order.
When the Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, decided to put the story to the test, however, he soon recognized its shortcomings:
The only source cited for the anecdote was Bernard. She’s on the record, but there is no indication that the newspaper made other attempts to confirm her account. The story’s lead reporter, Shari Rudavsky, did not respond to a query asking whether additional sourcing was obtained. A Gannett spokeswoman provided a comment from Bro Krift, the newspaper’s executive editor: “The facts and sourcing about people crossing state lines into Indiana, including the 10-year-old girl, for abortions are clear. We have no additional comment at this time.”
Moreover,
Under Ohio law, a physician, as a mandated reporter under Ohio Revised Code 2151.421, would be required to report any case of known or suspected physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect of a child to their local child welfare or law enforcement agency. So Bernard’s colleague would have had to make such a report to law enforcement at the same time he or she contacted Bernard. Presumably then a criminal case would have been opened.
Bernard declined to identify to the Fact Checker her colleague or the city where the child was located.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s press secretary told Kessler that the governor’s office did not know of the case in question, though it would have been a matter for local government. Kessler checked with child-services agencies in many Ohio cities, but came up empty there, too.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News he’s heard “not a whisper” about the alleged rape, nor has the state crime lab received any evidence for analysis in such a case. Furthermore, he said, a 10-year-old rape victim would not be prohibited from getting an abortion under Ohio’s heartbeat law.
It’s also worth noting that while a federal court lifted its injunction against the heartbeat law on June 24, the Ohio Supreme Court did not lift its own injunction until July 1, four days after Bernard allegedly received the call from the Ohio doctor. Abortion, therefore, was still completely legal in the Buckeye State at that time.
Kessler was unable to determine whether the story is true or false, writing that it is “very difficult … to check.” But given the motives of those pushing the tale, the lack of evidence to corroborate it, and the Star’s rather defensive response to Kessler’s inquiries, few outside the pro-abortion camp will be surprised if it ultimately turns out to be unfounded.
