Arrested the accused of raping a 10-year-old girl who had to abort 0:58

(CNN) -- An Indianapolis doctor who publicly disclosed that she provided abortion services to a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio last year has been reprimanded and fined by the Indiana medical licensing board after the disclosure was determined to violate federal and state patient privacy laws.

On Thursday, the board found Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist, responsible for three counts of violating patient privacy laws, after Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a complaint against her in November.

However, the board dismissed two other allegations in the complaint, determining that it did not violate laws requiring doctors to immediately report any suspected child abuse and to stay abreast of mandatory reporting and patient privacy laws.

Bernard will be fined $3,000 and receive a letter of reprimand, according to the board, which agreed to allow her to continue practicing medicine.

The complaint alleged that Bernard violated patient privacy law by discussing the girl's case without the patient's consent or a guardian — even without using her name — over the summer with the Indianapolis Star.

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• Man Accused of Raping 10-Year-Old Girl Who Traveled to Indiana for Abortion

Dr. Caitlin Bernard is sworn in during a hearing before the Indiana state medical licensing board, May 25, 2023. (Credit: Mykal McEldowney/AP)

The revelation of why the Ohio girl made her medical trip to Indiana, days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Wade's and ending the federal right to abortion helped Bernard become part of the national debate over abortion rights in the county.

Bernard told CNN last year that he provided abortion services to the girl in late June, and that the girl traveled to Indiana to undergo the procedure because Ohio, following the Roe ruling, generally banned abortions after early heart activity was detected, which is around six weeks of pregnancy. The girl was six weeks and three days pregnant, according to Bernard.

At the time of the intervention, Indiana allowed abortion up to 20 weeks after fertilization. Since then, the state has enacted a law banning abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions in cases of rape or incest or to save the woman's life, prevent any serious risk to the woman's health, and in case of lethal fetal anomalies.

The case quickly became a flashpoint in the post-Roe showdown over abortion rights. Several Republican politicians and media outlets were initially skeptical of Bernard's claims, until a man was accused of raping the girl and an Ohio detective testified that the girl had had an abortion in Indianapolis.

The chairman of Indiana's medical licensing board spoke Thursday of supporting a sanction against Bernard.

"My reason for recommending a reprimand letter would be that I don't think she expected this to go viral," board chairman Dr. John Strobel said during the deliberations. "I don't think she expected so much attention to be paid to this patient."

"But I do think that we, as physicians, have to be more careful in this situation," Strobel said. "I think she's a good doctor. I think he can exercise again."

• A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by several people. When she tried to report it, a policeman allegedly raped her again.

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Cory Voight, co-director of the Attorney General's Office's Complex Litigation Division, said the complaint centered on Bernard's decision "to tell a reporter from Indiana's leading newspaper about his patient."

"The effect of that decision is that everybody, the country, found out about their patient. He learned that a girl, 10 years old, was raped and had an abortion," Voight said in his opening remarks.

The complaint called on the licensing board to impose "appropriate disciplinary measures" but did not seek specific sanction.

Bernard's lawyer called Rokita's complaint a "desperate attempt to intimidate" her and other abortion providers. Bernard maintained that he did not divulge protected details about the girl.

"I did not disclose any protected health information. I complied with all patient confidentiality laws and HIPAA [the federal law on privacy and security of data and protected health information], to the best of my knowledge," Bernard said Thursday. "And, again, there was no information that I divulged that would lead to her being identified."

Bernard's employer, Indiana University Health, said in July that it reviewed the case and determined that the doctor was "in compliance with privacy laws."

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Bernard was exonerated for violation of the obligation to report child abuse

The complaint alleged that Bernard failed to follow proper child abuse reporting procedures to Indiana authorities after performing abortion services.

Following Thursday's deliberations, the state medical board concluded Bernard did not violate the procedures and declared her not responsible.

Bernard told the board that he immediately notified a hospital social worker of the potential abuse. The social worker said she contacted officials in Ohio, where the rape occurred, and that authorities were already investigating the case.

Bernard reported the abortion procedure to the Indiana Department of Health on July 2, two days after it was performed, as required by the department, according to agency documents obtained by CNN.

Bernard told the licensing board on Thursday that he had also submitted the report, which noted the abuse, to the Indiana Department of Children's Services. The department previously declined to publicly confirm whether it received a report from Bernard, citing confidentiality law.

-- CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe and Kiely Westhoff contributed to this report.

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