Topline
The state of California sued a Catholic hospital for refusing to provide an emergency abortion to a patient whose pregnancy had been deemed nonviable in accordance with what Attorney General Rob Bonta called a “draconian” policy that he says violates state law.
Protestors demonstrate at the March for Reproductive Rights on April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, … [+]
Key Facts
California, one of the states that has maintained the strongest protections for reproductive rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned, on Monday sued Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Humboldt County Superior Court for refusing to perform an abortion for patient Anna Nusslock.
Nusslock, whose water broke when she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins, was denied the procedure “despite the immediate threat to her life” and was told she’d need to travel to a different hospital 12 miles away, according to the attorney general’s office.
Those who discharged her at the original hospital knew she was in danger and gave her a bucket and towels for the drive “in case something happens in the car,” the attorney general said.
The doctor who ultimately operated on Nusslock—who was “actively hemorrhaging” when she arrived at Mad River Community Hospital—said in a court declaration obtained by the New York Times that she had treated other patients in similar circumstances who had been denied abortions by Providence hospital.
Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California has a policy that prohibits doctors from providing emergency treatment if doing so would terminate a pregnancy even when the pregnancy is not viable, a policy Bonta said does not comply with state law and “discriminates against pregnant patients.”
Bonta says the policy violates California’s Emergency Services Law requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortion care, as well as the Unruh Civil Rights Act (which protects pregnant people from discrimination), and the Unfair Competition Law.
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Crucial Quote
“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,” Bonta said in a statement, to which he added, “abortion care is healthcare.”
Key Background
Nearly two dozen US states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act still requires hospitals to offer abortions in emergency situations, but the Center for Reproductive Rights advocacy organization has said doctors in restrictive states still hesitate to perform the procedure out of fear they’ll be prosecuted. In California, abortion is legal through the age of fetal viability (usually between 24 and 26 weeks of pregnancy).
