17 hours Ago By Sage Alexander
Lawyers for Providence St. Joseph filed a motion on Monday asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, which alleges the hospital violated multiple laws by denying a pregnant woman, Eureka’s Anna Nusslock, an emergency abortion in February. The motion alleges the laws the attorney general cited do not apply, and states the hospital’s Catholic status means it cannot comply with an order to allow abortions — in other words, arguing the case hinges on laws over religious freedom.
It’s the first time the health care system has formally responded to the allegations of the case in court. The filing does not dispute the factual accuracy of the lawsuit, where Nusslock was allegedly denied an emergency abortion — and emergency care — in February 2024 after her water broke when she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins. She was instead told to go 12 miles away to Mad River Community Hospital with a bucket and towels for the car ride, and was hemorrhaging by the time she was on an operating table, according to court declarations.
The Attorney General alleged that this practice of denying life-saving or stabilizing emergency treatment when doing so would terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy is not viable, violated California’s Emergency Services Law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Unfair Competition Law. The motion presented Monday by Providence has five points — including an argument that enforcement of the claims, and compelling the hospital to allow abortions that conflict with the Catholic Religious Doctrine, “would substantially burden SJH’s free exercise of religion.” It argues the hospital’s Catholic status means it cannot comply with an order to allow abortions without “forsaking its Catholic identity — the ultimate burden in a religious freedom case.
” The motion also argues: 1. That any alleged violations of California’s Emergency Services Act should be determined by the California Department of Public Health, not through the legal system. 2.
That a law surrounding emergency transfers cited by the Attorney General “does not apply to the transfer alleged in the complaint because the complaint alleges that the transfer was for medical reasons.” 3. That the allegation that the hospital violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act — by alleged discrimination against pregnant people — does not apply because it did not constitute “intentional discrimination.
” 4. That the Unfair Competition Law wasn’t violated because the emergency services law or the Unruh Civil Rights Act weren’t violated. While the lawyers have met, ”the parties were unable to resolve the matter,” the motion said.
The matter will be heard on Jan. 27, 2025m at the Humboldt County courthouse. Since the lawsuit was filed, Mad River Community Hospital closed labor and delivery services on Oct.
31, leaving Providence St. Joseph with the only birthing center in Humboldt County. “The Attorney General is deeply concerned for the pregnant people of Humboldt County.
Their only option for obstetric care is Providence St. Joseph Hospital, which is now arguing that it is exempt from providing emergency abortion services that all hospitals must provide under longstanding California law. While the Attorney General supports the religious freedoms enshrined in California’s Constitution, a hospital may not withhold care from a patient facing a medical emergency when their health or life is at risk.
The Attorney General’s Office will continue to fight to ensure that everyone in California has access to emergency healthcare,” a statement from the AG’s office said. Providence also sent a statement Monday. “Our motion raises several procedural legal arguments for dismissal while also affirming both our Catholic identity and our commitment to providing safe, high-quality emergency care for pregnant patients in accordance with state and federal law,” a spokesperson for Providence said in an email.
“Our commitment to both the health of our community and our faith-based tradition remains unwavering. We have served as a vital safety net in Humboldt County since the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange founded the ministry more than 100 years ago, and we remain deeply committed to continuing to be here for patients when they need us most.
As part of that commitment, we are providing additional training and education to our OB and Emergency Department medical staff and caregivers to support them in the delivery of safe, high-quality emergency care for pregnant patients in the context of our Catholic identity and the requirements of state and federal law.” The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services prohibits elective termination of pregnancies. More information about the hospital’s emergency abortion policy has come to light in the months since, including declarations from health care providers.
In a court declaration for Nusslock’s case, Dr. Simon Stampe said he was told by the hospital’s chaplain “under no circumstance was I to terminate a pregnancy” at the hospital, after asking questions about the directive following an orientation. In his declaration, he said it was unclear how close the patient had to be to death before an abortion could be provided.
A separate lawsuit was filed earlier this month for a similar case, where an anonymous woman was allegedly denied multiple emergency abortions and had to travel to the San Francisco Bay Area for care. Both women went into premature labor and were informed that, although their baby would almost certainly not survive, their doctors were barred by Providence policy from terminating the pregnancy. The suits each allege this practice put the two women’s lives at risk.
So far, Providence and the Attorney General’s office agreed in a stipulation in October the hospital would allow its physicians to terminate a patient’s pregnancy in cases where failing to do so would place the patient’s health in permanent jeopardy, result in serious impairment to the patient’s bodily functions or result in serious dysfunction of any bodily organ. The hospital agreed to follow California’s Emergency Services Act, one of three laws Bonta alleges the Catholic health care system broke in the suit. The hospital denied the allegations of the suit in the stipulation.
Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504..
