California sues Catholic hospital after it ‘refused an emergency abortion to a mom whose life was in danger’

A Catholic hospital in Northern California is facing a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general after it reportedly refused to perform an abortion on a woman whose pregnancy was not viable and whose life was in danger.

Anna Nusslock was already in severe crisis when she and her husband Daniel arrived last February at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, according to the suit, which AG Rob Bonta filed Monday in Humboldt County Superior Court. A doctor examined Nusslock, who was 15 weeks pregnant with twins, and told her they would not survive, the suit explains.

Without a dilation and evacuation procedure, or, what is commonly known as “an abortion,” Nusslock was also at risk of death, the complaint contends.

However, it goes on, “Providence refused to allow Anna’s doctors to treat her, as the hospital’s policies prohibited them from terminating a pregnancy so long as they could detect fetal heart tones. The only exception was if the mother’s life was at immediate risk, a high threshold that Anna apparently did not yet reach. Only at some poorly defined point in the future, when Anna was close enough to death, would Providence permit her doctors to intervene. Until then, Anna and her physicians could do nothing but wait, worry, and hope.”

Painted into a corner, the Nusslocks were forced to drive to a nearby facility that was not bound by religious restriction — but not before a nurse at Providence handed them a bucket and some towels “in case something happens in the car.”

Twenty minutes later, Nusslock was rushed into surgery at Mad River Community Hospital, where doctors saved her life.

Bereft of the twins Nusslock and her husband had been hoping for, she is now “mired in… grief,” according to the complaint.

In a statement issued Monday to coincide with the filing of the lawsuit, Bonta said California is “the beacon of hope” for many trying to access abortion care following the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. Yet, Bonta said, “It is damning that here in California, where abortion care is a constitutional right, we have a hospital implementing a policy that’s reminiscent of heartbeat laws in extremist red states… At the California Department of Justice, we will use the full force of this office to hold accountable those who, like Providence, are breaking the law.”

A Providence spokesperson said in an email on Monday evening to The Independent that it is “deeply committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients and provides emergency services to all who walk through our doors in accordance with state and federal law.”

“We are heartbroken over Dr. Nusslock’s experience earlier this year,” the statement said. “This morning was the first Providence had heard of the California attorney general’s lawsuit, and we are currently reviewing the filings to understand what is being alleged. Because this case is in active litigation and due to patient confidentiality, we cannot comment on the matter. As part of our pledge to delivering safe, high-quality care, we review every event that may not have met our patient needs or expectations to understand what happened and take appropriate steps to meet those needs and expectations for every patient we encounter.”

Providence violated California’s Emergency Services Law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the Unfair Competition Law, according to Monday’s lawsuit. It says the three combine to create a crucial backstop ensuring continued abortion-related healthcare services are available to women while the federal rules surrounding access to the procedure remain uncertain.

Bonta on Monday moved for a preliminary injunction that would prevent hospitals from denying women prompt abortion care. His office called this “especially critical” because Mad River Community Hospital next month will be shuttering its labor and delivery unit, leaving Providence as the only provider offering these services in the entire county.

As Bonta’s statement says, “The next person in Anna’s situation will face an agonizing choice of risking a multi-hour drive to another hospital or waiting until they are close enough to death for Providence to intervene.”