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 com.