Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the obstetrician-gynecologist who provided a legal abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim in Indiana last month, is preparing to sue the states attorney general for defamation.

Bernards attorneys filed a claim notice Tuesday, saying Attorney General Todd Rokita owes her damages for security costs, legal fees, reputational harm and emotional distress after saying last week he plans to investigate her actions and falsely suggesting she failed to report the abortion to state authorities.

Mr. Rokitas false and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard in her profession constitute defamation per se. The statements have been and continue to be published by or on behalf of Mr. Rokita and the Office of the Attorney General, Bernards attorney Kathleen DeLaney said in the notice of claim.

Rokita first commented publicly on Bernard last week when he appeared on Fox News calling her an abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report, referencing an Indiana law that requires physicians to notify the state within three days of performing an abortion on a patient under 16.