Providence St. Joseph Hospital and the California Attorney General鈥檚 office have reached a temporary agreement in a case alleging the Catholic-owned hospital in Humboldt County violated multiple state laws by denying emergency to pregnant patients.
Last month, Attorney General Rob Bonta , alleging it illegally refused to provide emergency abortion care to a woman who was 15 weeks pregnant and hemorrhaging.
According to the stipulated agreement released Tuesday night, St. Joseph agrees to , which prohibits hospitals from denying patients emergency care.
The hospital will allow physicians to terminate a patient鈥檚 pregnancy if not doing so would seriously risk the patient鈥檚 health. The hospital also agreed not to transfer a patient to another facility without first providing emergency stabilizing care, including abortion if that is what a patient needs.
St. Joseph and its parent organization Providence admit no liability under the stipulation. The stipulation is subject to court approval and will remain in place while the litigation continues.
鈥淲hile Providence St. Joseph should have been complying with state law up to now, thereby avoiding the harm and trauma to Californians they caused, I am pleased that the hospital has agreed to fully comply with the law going forward, ensuring access to life-saving health services including emergency abortion care,鈥� Bonta said in a statement.
Representatives for Providence St. Joseph did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the lawsuit against the hospital, local chiropractor alleges that she arrived at the hospital in February bleeding and in severe pain after her water broke prematurely. Nusslock was pregnant with twins. Court documents state that a doctor at Providence St. Joseph Hospital told her internal policy prevented them from treating her because one of her twins had a 鈥渄etectable heartbeat.鈥�
Nusslock was given a bucket and towels 鈥渋n case something happens in the car,鈥� court documents filed by the state allege, and told to drive to the next closest hospital 12 miles away.
That hospital, Mad River Community Hospital, will , leaving Providence St. Joseph Hospital the in Humboldt County.
The lawsuit claims that Nusslock鈥檚 condition put her at risk of permanent harm or death from infection and hemorrhage.
Though California has enacted some of the since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe vs. Wade, the state has struggled to navigate religious and personal belief exemptions governing hospitals and .
This is the first lawsuit filed against a hospital under the Emergency Services Law, according to the attorney general鈥檚 office.
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