Listen: Physicians have a moral and professional obligation to get into ‘good trouble’

Just days after the end of Roe v. Wade, Caitlin Bernard, an OB-GYN in Indiana, told the Indianapolis Star a heartbreaking story: She had recently been asked to perform an abortion on a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had been raped. The end of Roe had ushered in a six-week abortion ban in Ohio, and the girl was just past that mark in her pregnancy, meaning she could not access care in her own state.

Bernard’s remarks highlighted the ways abortion bans threaten patients’ health but also prompted major uproar from anti-abortion activists and politicians. Some cast doubt on Bernard’s story — until the alleged rapist was arrested. Even then, the criticism of Bernard continued.

In late May, the Indiana Medical Licensing Board held a hearing on Bernard. While they did not revoke her license, they fined Bernard $3,000 and issued a letter of reprimand, saying that by speaking out, she had violated the 10-year-old girl’s privacy.

On this week’s episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” I spoke with Gabriel Bosslet and Tracey Wilkinson, who are both friends and colleagues of Bernard, about her story, its lessons for physicians, and why advocacy is a professional responsibility for physicians.

Bosslet is an associate professor of clinical medicine and Wilkinson is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Our conversation stems from a First Opinion essay they recently co-wrote with two other Indiana physicians, Katie McHugh and Caroline Rouse, on why doctors need to see advocacy as part of their professional duty.

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