Catholic hospital forced to provide emergency abortions after blue state legal action

A Catholic hospital in California has agreed to provide emergency abortions after the state Attorney General sued the hospital in September for allegedly breaking state laws.

California AG Rob Bonta sued Providence St. Joseph Hospital’s Eureka location, claiming that the hospital illegally denied patients emergency abortions. Through the stipulation released Tuesday, Providence St. Joseph will have to comply with California’s Emergency Services Law (ESL), allowing its physicians to provide emergency abortions, according to a press release from Bonta.

“While 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,” Bonta said in a press release. “At the California Department of Justice, we believe that abortion care is healthcare. We will ensure that this right is upheld and will continue to hold accountable those who break the law.”

Under the Emergency Services Law, Providence St. Joseph will now be required to provide emergency services, including abortions if applicable, before transferring a pregnant patient, according to a press release. The law also forces the hospital to follow discharge protocols, which states Providence St. Joseph cannot discharge patients and ask them to transport themselves to another facility. 

In the initial suit, the state claimed the hospital denied an emergency abortion for a pregnant patient who was hemorrhaging at 15 weeks. The plaintiff was supposedly encouraged to go to a local hospital 12 miles away that would treat her, and Providence St. Joseph allegedly gave her a bucket and towel in case something were to happen in the car en route.

“While Providence Hospital will ostensibly intervene if a pregnant patient is on the verge of death, the ESL imposes more extensive obligations,” the original suit reads. “A licensed facility must act to prevent not only actual death, but also ‘serious injury or illness.’ Further, once an emergency medical condition is diagnosed, the licensed facility must provide the ‘care, treatment and surgery’ that is ‘necessary to relieve or eliminate the emergency medical condition.”

“Providence is deeply committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients and provides emergency services to all who walk through our doors, in accordance with state and federal law,” the hospital said in response to the September lawsuit. “We are heartbroken over Dr. Nusslock’s experience earlier this year. This morning was the first Providence had heard of the California attorney general’s lawsuit, and we are currently reviewing the filings to understand what is being alleged. Because this case is in active litigation and due to patient confidentiality, we cannot comment on the matter. As part of our pledge to delivering safe, high-quality care, we review every event that may not have met our patient needs or expectations to understand what happened and take appropriate steps to meet those needs and expectations for every patient we encounter.”

AG Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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