Biden’s Story of 10-Year-Old Girl Crossing State Line for Abortion Draws Skepticism

A story about a 10-year-old rape victim who had to leave Ohio for an abortion has come under fire after it was repeated by President Joe Biden, with a fact-checker saying it is “very difficult” to verify the tale’s authenticity.

Biden referenced the story on Friday when he signed an executive order aimed at preserving abortion access in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, which affirmed that abortion is not a constitutional right but rather a matter that should be left to individual states. The order pledges to ensure the safety of abortion providers, including mobile clinics that are usually deployed near the borders of states where abortion is restricted.

“Some of the states don’t allow for exceptions for rape or incest,” Biden said. “Just last week, it was reported that a 10-year-old girl was a rape victim in Ohio—10 years old—and she was forced to have to travel out of the state, to Indiana, to seek to terminate the [pregnancy] and maybe save her life.”

“Imagine being that little girl,” he said. “I’m serious, just imagine being that little girl. Ten years old!”

The report the president referenced was published July 1 by the Indianapolis Star, which cited Dr. Caitlan Bernard, an Indianapolis-based obstetrician-gynecologist, as the single source.

Speaking to the Star, Bernard said a “child abuse doctor” in Ohio contacted her after finding that the young patient was six weeks and three days pregnant—three days late for a legal abortion under a recently revived Ohio law, which prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

Glenn Kessler, a fact-checker for The Washington Post, found the story dubious. In an analysis published Saturday, he pointed out that physicians in Ohio have a legal obligation to tell the police when they see signs of child abuse, yet no arrest related to

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