[14] The Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler analyzed that "The story quickly caught fire, becoming a headline in newspapers around the world.
Mike DeWine (R), said the governor’s office was unaware of any specific case but he said under the state’s decentralized system, records would be held at a local level.
[15] After news of the arrest of the alleged rapist validated the Star's story, Kelly McBride, a media ethics expert at the Poynter Institute said that journalists needed to report and “not just put more opinions out without any more additional facts".
[21] Yost also asserted at that time that Ohio law on the matter had been misconstrued, and that the girl could have received an abortion in the state if a treating physician deemed it a medical emergency, even if it was not life-threatening.
[23] In an interview with NPR, Ohio senator J. D. Vance stated that the case was one of the instances where "reasonable exceptions" should be made to abortion bans.
[27] Todd Rokita, the Indiana Attorney General, then announced an investigation into Bernard,[28][29] stating that the doctor "used a 10-year-old girl—a child rape victim's personal trauma—to push her political ideology", and further asserting that she was "aided and abetted by a fake news media who conveniently misquoted my words to try to give abortionists and their readership numbers an extra boost".
[28] In an August 2022 opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Rokita characterized an investigation into the doctor as aimed at protecting patient privacy.
[31] In late May 2023, the Indiana Medical Licensing Board voted to reprimand Bernard on the charge of violating patient privacy by discussing the case, fining her $3,000.
[32] Indiana University Health, where Bernard had admitting privileges, reported conducting an internal investigation, and finding the doctor to be in compliance with privacy laws.
[40][41] The third charge alleged that Rokita violated his "duty of confidentiality" due to public statements made before referring Bernard to the medical board.
[41] Rokita responded that the situation was one "that 'cancels' non-compliant citizens through intimidation as well as tactics that can weaponize our respected institutions", and also argued that the duty of confidentiality may only apply to his employees and not him, the attorney general.
[40] In September 2023, Rokita sued Bernard's employer, hospital system IU Health, claiming that it had failed to protect the 10-year old's privacy.