Investigation Casts Doubt on Story of Ohio 10-Year-Old Forced to Travel for Abortion

The Washington Post first cast doubt on the story of a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio whose pregnancy was deemed three days too late to be terminated under the state’s new abortion laws. It went viral and has been cited by abortion advocates and even President Joe Biden himself, but the story appears to be fake news.

The story spread at a lightning pace around the internet after conveniently hitting all the major talking points.

A 10-year-old girl, a rape victim, was deemed six weeks and three days pregnant, just too late for the state’s six week Heartbeat Law cutoff. Instead, the traumatized child would travel out of state to have the procedure, eventually attended by Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist Caitlan Bernard.

President Joe Biden referenced the case in a July 8th speech.

“This isn’t some imagined horror,” he said. “Ten years old. Raped, six weeks pregnant. Already traumatized. Was forced to travel to another state. Imagine being that little girl.”

The Washington Post’s reporting notes that Bernard is virtually the only source for the story.

The paper also reminds readers that Ohio law requires doctors to report cases of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse against a child to law enforcement, yet no such report has been found.

State Attorney General Dave Yoast said, in an appearance on Fox News, that the case of a 10-year-old rape victim has not been heard of among prosecutors or local police and sheriffs.

“My office runs the state crime lab,” he said. “Any case like this, you’re going to have a rape kit, you’re going to have biological evidence, and you would be looking for DNA. There is no case request for analysis that looks anything like this.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost just said that his office has no evidence of a raped ten-year-old child who was impregnated, including a request for lab results. He also noted that Ohio law would have allowed for an abortion in such a case.

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 11, 2022

Doctor Caitlan Bernard has refused to provide follow up comments for the Daily Caller.