California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California. The lawsuit, submitted to Humboldt County Superior Court, accuses the hospital of violating multiple state laws by refusing to provide emergency abortion care to patients experiencing obstetric emergencies.
The case highlights the situation of Anna Nusslock, who was 15 weeks pregnant with twins when her water broke on February 23, 2024. Despite the immediate threat to her life and health, and the non-viability of her pregnancy, Providence refused to treat her. Nusslock had to travel 12 miles to Mad River Community Hospital while hemorrhaging before receiving necessary care.
Attorney General Bonta is seeking a preliminary injunction to ensure timely emergency healthcare services at Providence, including abortion care. He stated: “California is the beacon of hope for so many Americans across this country trying to access abortion services since the Dobbs decision. 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.”
Nusslock was diagnosed with Previable Premature Pre-labor Rupture of Membranes (Previable PPROM) at Providence. This condition meant that without abortion care, she faced increased risk of permanent harm or death from infection and hemorrhage. However, due to hospital policy prohibiting emergency care as long as one twin had a detectable heartbeat, she was discharged with instructions to drive to another hospital.
Providence’s policy bars doctors from providing life-saving or stabilizing emergency treatment if it would terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy is not viable. The complaint alleges violations of California’s Emergency Services Law (the state-level analogue to the federal EMTALA statute), the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the Unfair Competition Law.
Bonta emphasized: “With today’s lawsuit, I want to make this clear for all Californians: abortion care is healthcare. You have the right to access timely and safe abortion services. 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.”
The urgency of this legal action is underscored by Mad River Community Hospital's plan to close its labor and delivery unit in October 2024. This closure will leave Providence as the only hospital with such a unit in Humboldt County.
This lawsuit seeks to enforce crucial rights under California state law amid uncertainties surrounding federal protections under EMTALA following recent Supreme Court decisions.
For more information on reproductive healthcare resources provided by Attorney General Bonta's office or specific details on accessing abortions in California, visit https://oag.ca.gov/reprorights or https://www.abortion.ca.gov/.