A California Catholic hospital has agreed to review training and education after the state sued the center, alleging its professionals denied a woman an emergency abortion.
Anna Nusslock, 36, claimed that doctors at Providence St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Eureka sent her home, bloodied, while she had an abortion, offering her nothing more than a bucket and a towel.
The expectant mother alleged that the doctors responsible for her care denied her an emergency abortion after her water broke prematurely, leaving her vulnerable to infections and other complications.
Nusslock was just 15 weeks pregnant with twins when doctors told her that the babies would no longer be viable and that if they did not terminate their pregnancies she could risk hemorrhaging or developing an infection that could negatively affect her future fertility.
Anna Nusslock, 36, claims doctors at Providence St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Eureka sent her home, bloodied, while she had an abortion, offering her nothing more than a bucket and a towel.
Catholic Church-affiliated Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California, agreed to review training and education after the state sued the facility alleging its professionals denied a woman an emergency abortion.
But because doctors allegedly detected a fetal heartbeat, the Catholic hospital resorted to its own policy, which stated that the hospital could not perform an abortion unless the patient’s life was at risk.
Catholic hospitals restrict reproductive health care because they follow the church’s “ethical and religious guidelines.”
Still, according to Cleveland ClinicFetal tissue left in the uterus can cause “infection, which can damage reproductive organs or even cause dangerous complications such as sepsis if left untreated.”
Denied care, Nusslock and her husband drove to Mad River Community Hospital, 12 miles away. On the unimaginable and blood-ridden journey, the now grieving mother expelled one of the fetuses.
She arrived distraught at the Arcata hospital before medical professionals had to perform an emergency procedure to remove the other unborn fetus.
On September 30, the State of California presented a lawsuit against the Eureka hospital, alleging it violated state law requiring hospitals with emergency centers to provide care to prevent “serious injury, illness and death.”
The lawsuit alleges that “instead of providing him with the emergency medical care he needed, Providence Hospital offered him a bucket and towels.”
If that wasn’t enough, additional details were redacted in the September lawsuit, including that the Providence doctor recommended Nusslock be airlifted to the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center for treatment.
But when he mentioned the unfathomable $40,000 cost, the lawsuit claims his doctor told him, “If you try to drive, you will hemorrhage and die before you get to a place that can help you.”
The hospital has since responded to Nusslock’s traumatic experience by issuing a statement in a Facebook position, signed by its executive director, Garry Olney.
On September 30, the state of California filed a lawsuit against the Eureka hospital, alleging that it violated state law requiring hospitals with emergency centers to provide care to prevent “serious injury, illness and death.” Pictured: Grieving Anna Nusslock speaking at a podium.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital, alleging that the hospital violated multiple state laws when it discharged Anna Nusslock without providing her with necessary medical care.
“As you may have heard, yesterday we learned that the California Attorney General filed a lawsuit alleging that we denied emergency care to a pregnant patient in Humboldt County earlier this year,” the post reads.
“We are heartbroken by the experience this patient had while in our care and have reached out to her today in an effort to express our deepest apologies.”
The Nusslock hospital where she finally received potentially life-saving care, Mad River, will soon close its delivery department, leaving even fewer options for those in need of care.
Providence will then be the only hospital within an 85-mile radius that will offer labor and delivery, according to a KFF Health News analysis.
This case raises a larger issue affecting women, as it illustrates a deep loophole in California state law that allows Catholic hospitals to follow their religious directives.
In California, 56 hospitals have closed their maternity wards in the last 12 years, according to a investigation by CalMatters, The news 19 reported.
Meanwhile, nationally, at least 267 hospitals closed labor and delivery units between 2011 and 2021, representing about 5 percent of the country’s hospitals, according to Chartis, a healthcare consulting and analytics firm.