California attorney general sues hospital over refusal to perform abortion

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Anna Nusslock was told that if she drove to another hospital for an abortion, she’d hemorrhage and die.

The hospital she was at, Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka, wouldn’t perform the life-saving procedure on Nusslock because it detected a heartbeat. As Nusslock wasn’t deemed to be sufficiently at risk, the hospital denied her an abortion.

That led California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday to announce a lawsuit against the hospital in Humboldt County Superior Court seeking a preliminary injunction against the hospital to ensure it doesn’t continue to enforce its policy.

“This is such a tragic and infuriating story,” Bonta said, adding moments later: “It’s unlawful. It’s wrong.”

Bonta pointed to the hospital’s abortion policy as being incompatible with state law. Abortion is a constitutional right in California, and Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka violated civil rights law by refusing Nusslock.

Speaking from a lectern during Monday’s press conference, Nusslock said she wanted to tell her story so others don’t experience the same life trauma she did.

Nusslock and her husband have tried since 2021 to have children, and both grew excited and hopeful when they learned she was pregnant with twin girls.

“I was hoping they were going to grow up and save the world,” Nusslock said.

More than three months into her pregnancy, Nusslock said that in February she began bleeding and experiencing pain. She went to Providence St. Joseph Hospital with her husband and was told her children couldn’t survive. Also, the risk to her own health increased the longer she waited.

She needed an abortion, but the hospital’s policy meant it wouldn’t occur there. Nusslock declined a helicopter ride to another facility, as it would cost $40,000 and her husband couldn’t travel with her.

“The doctor at Providence Hospital informed Anna that hospital policy prohibited them from providing Anna the needed treatment so long as one of Anna’s twins had detectable heart tones, unless Anna’s life was sufficiently at risk — that is, more at risk than it already was,” Bonta says in the suit. “Despite every doctor involved agreeing that Anna needed immediate intervention, Providence Hospital policy would not allow it.”

They opted to drive to another health care facility 20 minutes away. Before she left, a nurse tried to give her a bucket filled with towels, saying she might need them.

Nusslock turned it down, wondering how much the hospital would charge her for it.

“My daughters deserved better, and I deserved better,” she added.

Bonta in the suit states that Providence’s actions broke the law. The state’s emergency services law prohibits “patient dumping,” and requires all licensed facilities to have an emergency room that’s open to the public. That law gives requirements for transferring a patient, which don’t apply when someone needs immediate care.

Additionally, the hospital was required under the state’s Unruh Civil Rights Act to give all patients equal access to its services. Failing to provide the necessary emergency care was unlawful business conduct.

“Absent intervention, these policies will continue to threaten irreparable harm to the health and life of pregnant patients,” Bonta writes in the suit.

The attorney general notes that the only other hospital within 100 miles of Providence that has a labor and delivery unit has announced that it’ll suspend those services next month.

Bonta seeks an injunction to stop the hospital from future implementation of its policy, and fines of $2,500 for each violation that is found to have occurred.

On Monday, Bonta said anyone not following the law should consider the lawsuit against Providence as a warning.

“It is the law and it is your duty to follow it,” he added. “You can’t make up your own standard.”

Providence in a statement said it was committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients, and offers emergency services to everyone.

“We are heartbroken over Dr. Nusslock’s experience earlier this year,” a hospital spokesperson 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.”