California Catholic Hospital apologizes after lawsuit alleges it refuses to care for pregnant women

Washington, DC Newsroom, October 2, 2024 / 5:45 p.m

The head of a Catholic hospital network in California has apologized after the state attorney general filed a lawsuit alleging that Providence St. Joseph Hospital denied emergency care to a pregnant woman whose water ruptured prematurely at 15 weeks.

“We are heartbroken by the experiences this patient has had in our care and have reached out to her today to express our deep apologies,” Providence Northern California Service Area Executive Director Garry Olney said in a statement to the hospital statement employees provided to CNA on Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Humboldt County Superior Court, alleges that Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka violated several California state laws by allegedly refusing to perform abortion procedures on a patient, Anna Nusslock, 36 , in which doctors had diagnosed a rare condition, namely premature birth, rupture of membranes (PPROM).

According to the attorney general's lawsuit, Nusslock was denied treatment by the hospital, which does not perform dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures when a heartbeat is detected. Although it apologized to Nusslock, the hospital has not publicly confirmed whether the discovery of a fetal heartbeat was the reason she was allegedly denied treatment.

Olney wrote in the hospital's statement that Nusslock's experience was “a tragic situation that did not meet our standards for safe, quality and compassionate care.” He further added that the hospital intends to review its training processes for emergency medical situations “to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

“As devastated as we are,” he concluded, “we cannot imagine what the patient and her family have been through.” We will learn from this and renew our commitment to ensure that the care and experience that We offer care that meets our high standards at any time and in any situation.”

A spokesperson for the hospital told CNA earlier this week that they were unaware of the lawsuit until the morning it was announced and planned to continue investigating the incident to determine what happened and how it was related to the allegations .

“Although elective abortions are not performed at Providence facilities, we do not deny emergency care,” the spokesperson told CNA, adding: “When it comes to complex pregnancies or situations where a woman's life is at risk, we provide all necessary interventions.” protect and save the life of the mother.”

The attorney general also sought a permanent injunction against the hospital, requiring it to provide “timely emergency services,” “including abortion care.”

“California is the beacon of hope for so many Americans across the country trying to access abortion services since the Dobbs decision. “It is damning that here in California, where abortion is a constitutional right, we have a hospital implementing a policy reminiscent of heartbeat laws in extremist red states,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release Monday.

“With today’s lawsuit, I want to make it clear to all Californians: abortion care is health care. You have the right to access timely and safe abortion services,” he continued. “At the California Department of Justice, we will use the full power of this office to hold accountable those who, like Providence, break the law.”

What does the Catholic Church teach on this topic?

Michael Pakaluk, a professor and ethicist at the Catholic University of America, told CNA that the D&E process in this case violates natural law and therefore God's law and the Church's teaching.

“Natural law states that no one may directly take the life of an innocent person. There are never exceptions to this law,” Pakaluk said. “It is always better that we die than break this law. This is how the church has always taught.

“Abortion is not medical care,” he continued. “No doctor has the authority to recommend exchanging one human life for another. Such a judgment is never a medical judgment, but a utilitarian judgment that plays God and is beyond the jurisdiction of medicine.”