California has filed a lawsuit against a Roman Catholic hospital for allegedly refusing to provide an emergency abortion.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an announcement Monday that the state is moving immediately for a preliminary injunction to prevent hospitals from refusing emergency abortions.
The big picture: Bonta alleges that Providence St. Joseph Hospital, located in Eureka, violated multiple California laws by refusing to provide an emergency abortion to Anna Nusslock, a patient who had her water break when she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins.
- The lawsuit claims Providence refused to treat Nusslock despite the immediate threat to her life and that her pregnancy was no longer viable.
- Nusslock had to travel to another hospital 12 miles away for the emergency abortion.
Go deeper: Doctors at Providence diagnosed Nusslock with Previable Premature Pre-labor Rupture of Membranes, confirming that her twins would not survive.
- Providence informed her that the hospital would not provide an emergency abortion as long as one of the twins had a detectable heartbeat, unless there was an immediate risk to Nusslock’s life.
- Bonta contends Nusslock was already facing an immediate risk to her life.
- The lawsuit accuses Providence of violating California’s Emergency Services Law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Unfair Competition Law.
What they’re saying: Bonta said in a statement that it is damning that California has a hospital denying emergency abortions.
- “With today’s lawsuit, I want to make this clear for all Californians: abortion care is healthcare,” Bonta said. “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.”
