California sues hospital for denying patient an emergency abortion

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the authorities is suing a infirmary successful Eureka for allegedly refusing exigency termination attraction to women whose lives are successful danger.

The lawsuit, filed Monday successful Humboldt County Superior Court, alleges Providence St. Joseph Hospital violated aggregate California laws owed to its refusal to supply urgent termination attraction to radical experiencing obstetric emergencies.

Providence St. Joseph's is simply a Catholic infirmary and the superior infirmary services supplier successful Eureka, the largest coastal metropolis betwixt San Francisco and Oregon successful bluish California.

The suit names 1 peculiar patient, Anna Nusslock, who had her h2o interruption erstwhile she was 15 weeks large with twins successful Feb. 2024.

Nusslock, a 35-year-old healthcare professional, claimed successful the suit that doctors astatine Providence St. Joseph's told her the lone enactment was abortion, but they could not supply her the service, based connected infirmary policy.

"Without termination care, I risked corruption oregon hemorrhage, some of which are truthful unsafe to my wellness and my life, and accrued with each infinitesimal that passed," Nusslock said during a property league Monday.

Nusslock said she was told by doctors that they were prohibited from offering an exigency termination if her twins inactive had immoderate signs of bosom tones, contempt her ain beingness being astatine hazard and the gestation nary longer being viable.

"I was told I could not person exigency termination attraction portion astatine Providence due to the fact that of infirmary policy," Nusslock said.

Instead, Nusslock alleges Providence unit gave her a bucket and towels "in lawsuit thing happens successful the car" and told her to thrust 12 miles to a tiny assemblage infirmary wherever doctors were allowed to execute the procedure.

Once astatine that smaller hospital, Nusslock said she was actively hemorrhaging erstwhile she was placed connected an operating array and the gestation was aborted.

In the state's lawsuit, Attorney General Rob Bonta argues Providence has been violating aggregate California laws by refusing exigency termination attraction to women successful need.

California is requesting a tribunal bid to unit the infirmary to execute punctual exigency attraction including abortions.

"Pregnant patients person the aforesaid rights to wellness care, including exigency care, that immoderate different diligent has," said Bonta.

Bonta claims Providence is barring doctors from providing lifesaving oregon life-stabilizing exigency termination attraction adjacent erstwhile a gestation is not viable and erstwhile doctors person determined that contiguous termination attraction is indispensable to prevention the beingness of the mother.

"This policy, let's marque nary mistake, is draconian," Bonta said. "It has nary spot successful institutions that are charged with delivering accessible and equitable healthcare."

While Bonta argues Providence indispensable supply the attraction nether California law, national instrumentality connected the taxable is little clear.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires each infirmary successful the United States that operates an exigency section and participates successful Medicare to supply life-stabilizing attraction to each patients, but successful a caller case, the U.S. Supreme Court did not corroborate that the enactment includes termination care.

In a connection to ABC News, a spokesperson for Providence St. Joseph Hospital said, "Providence is profoundly committed to the wellness and wellness of women and large patients and provides exigency services to each who locomotion done our doors successful accordance with authorities and national law. We are heartbroken implicit Dr. Nusslock's acquisition earlier this year."

"This greeting was the archetypal Providence had heard of the California lawyer general's lawsuit, and we are presently reviewing the filings to recognize what is being alleged. Because this lawsuit is successful progressive litigation and owed to diligent confidentiality, we cannot remark connected the matter," the spokesperson added.

"As portion of our pledge to delivering safe, high-quality care, we reappraisal each lawsuit that whitethorn not person met our diligent needs oregon expectations to recognize what happened and instrumentality due steps to conscionable those needs and expectations for each diligent we encounter," the spokesperson said.