California files a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging it prevented a woman from obtaining an emergency abortion.
The individual, Anna Nusslock from Eureka, was 15 weeks pregnant with twins when her water broke in February.
Facing blood loss and agony, she visited Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, where medical professionals verified that her pregnancy was no longer sustainable, and the twins had no chance of surviving outside the womb, as stated in the document submitted to Humboldt County Superior Court by the California Attorney General's Office on Monday.
Medical personnel informed Nusslock that undergoing an abortion was crucial to prevent severe health complications, but the hospital policy prevented them from performing the procedure, the document claims. Nusslock's physician stated that hospital regulations prohibited abortions unless it posed a significant threat to Nusslock's life due to one of the fetuses still having a "detectable heartbeat," according to the document.
A spokesperson for Providence shared with CNN that the hospital policy does not deny abortion services for emergency care.
"Regarding complicated pregnancies or instances where a woman's life is on the line, we administer all necessary interventions to safeguard and enhance the mother's life," the spokesperson stated.
Garry Olney, executive head of Providence's Northern California Service Area, wrote to local employees on Tuesday, "We are deeply saddened by the patient's experience at our facility and reached out to her today to express our sincere apologies.
"This was a disturbing situation that did not meet our high standards for safe, quality, compassionate care. We are promptly reviewing our training, educational, and escalation processes in emergency medical situations to prevent such occurrences in the future and to ensure that our care teams are well-prepared and supported to deliver the highest level of care for each patient we serve," Olney wrote.
"We are as devastated as possible, but we can hardly fathom the patient and her family's ordeal. We will learn from this situation and reinforce our commitment to ensuring that the care and patient experience we provide align with our high standards, every time and in every care setting."
The lawsuit alleges that Nusslock's physician advised her to be airlifted over 270 miles to the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center for an abortion, but Nusslock declined, fearing that her insurance wouldn't cover the $40,000 helicopter ride cost.
Nusslock asked if she could drive instead, and her physician responded, "If you attempt to drive, you will hemorrhage and you will perish before you reach a facility capable of providing assistance," Nusslock recalled during a press conference on Monday.
"I will never forget staring at my doctor, tears streaming down my face, my heart shattered into a million pieces, and pleading with her: 'Don't let me die.'"
Nusslock's husband took her to Mad River Community Hospital, located about 20 minutes away – the only other hospital with a labor and delivery unit within a 100-mile radius, according to the complaint – for the treatment.
"I was terrified of the health and life risks I was facing by delaying intervention, so we chose to risk the drive to Mad River," Nusslock stated. "Before we left Providence, a nurse entered my room, and she handed me a bucket filled with towels, saying, 'They wanted me to give you these in case something happens during the car ride.'"
Nusslock declined the towels, fearing that she might incur charges for them.
At Mad River, she underwent surgery, and a physician there declared that she was actively losing a significant amount of blood on the operating table, as stated in the lawsuit.
The state's lawsuit asserts that the hospital breached a state law that obligates any hospital with an emergency department to provide adequate care to individuals in crisis.
"The attorney general claims that this law encompasses, roughly speaking, an emergency abortion or miscarriage management," Mary Ziegler, a legal historian specializing in abortion at the University of California Davis School of Law, told CNN.
"In certain rural areas of California, the next available provider is quite far away. In cases of true medical emergencies, like this patient's, there may be no practical approach to transfer the patient to another hospital without subjecting them to permanent medical harm or death."
In a Monday press release, Bonta claimed, "It is disturbing that in California, where abortion care is a constitutional right, we have a hospital implementing a policy akin to heartbeat laws enacted in extremist red states.
"With this lawsuit, I aim to make one thing crystal clear to all Californians: abortion care is healthcare. You have the right to timely and secure abortion services. At the California Department of Justice, we will employ the full might of this office to penalize those, like Providence, who, like Providence, are breaking the law."
Eureka, positioned in the northern reaches of the state, has only two hospitals with labor and delivery units within a 100-mile radius, as reported by the California Attorney General's Office.
Mad River Community Hospital, which conducted the procedure for Nusslock, announced that it will be shutting down its labor and delivery unit this month, according to the complaint.
A spokesperson for Providence stated that after the closure, the closest labor and delivery unit will be in Crescent City, approximately 80 miles from Eureka.
Despite facing potential health complications due to her pregnancy, Anna Nusslock was unable to receive an abortion at Providence St. Joseph Hospital due to their policy. To safeguard her life, medical personnel advised her to seek emergency care at another hospital, emphasizing the importance of maintaining her health during this critical time.
