State of California Sues Hospital for Denying Abortion, Allegedly Offering 'Bucket and Towels'

• The state of California has filed a lawsuit against a hospital that allegedly denied a patient an emergency abortion when she went into labor at 15 weeks because a fetal heartbeat was detected
• The lawsuit alleges that Providence St. Hospital gave her Joseph “offered a bucket and towels” to Anna Nusslock instead of providing emergency aid
• In a statement posted on Facebook, the hospital called Nusslock’s treatment a “tragic situation.”

The state of California is suing a hospital after it allegedly denied a woman an emergency abortion.

Providence St. Hospital Joseph Hospital in Eureka allegedly denied Anna Nusslock, 36, an emergency abortion after her water broke prematurely, leaving her vulnerable to infections and other complications, according to a report in The New York Times.

Nusslock, a chiropractor from Eureka, California, was 15 weeks pregnant with twins when her water broke, media reports said. Doctors told her the babies were not viable and if the pregnancy was not terminated, she could bleed, develop an infection – and negatively affect her future fertility.

Providence St. Hospital Joseph in Eureka, California.

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However, outlets report, because a fetal heartbeat was detected, the hospital would not perform an abortion unless Nusslock’s life was in danger, citing the hospital’s own policy.

Still, according to the Cleveland Clinic, fetal tissue that remains in the uterus can cause “an infection, which can damage your reproductive organs or even cause dangerous complications like sepsis if left untreated.”

The NYT reports that Nusslock’s husband drove her to Mad River Community Hospital — and by the time she arrived, she was bleeding. Nusslock miscarried one fetus and had an emergency procedure to remove the other.

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On September 30, the state of California filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that it violated a California law that requires hospitals with emergency services to provide care to prevent not only death, but also “serious injury or illness.”

The lawsuit alleges that “instead of the emergency medical care she needed, Providence Hospital offered her a bucket and towels.”

Abortion rights protesters march in California. David McNew/Getty Images

Further details of Nusslock’s experience are detailed in the lawsuit, including that a doctor in Providence advised her to be airlifted to the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco for treatment. When Nusslock brought up the $40,000 cost, the lawsuit states, the doctor told her, “If you try to drive, you’re going to bleed to death before you get anywhere that can help you.”

The lawsuit alleges that “Providence Hospital’s conduct was not only dangerous and inhumane, but unlawful in multiple ways,” citing California’s Emergency Services Act, which the lawsuit says “specifically prohibits the type of patient rejection that Anna experienced.”

“I was deeply traumatized by this experience and have been dealing with tremendous anxiety, grief and depression ever since,” Nusslock said, according to The New York Times.

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The hospital responded in a statement posted on Facebook, writing, “As you may have heard, we learned yesterday that the California Attorney General has filed a lawsuit alleging that we denied emergency care to a pregnant patient in Humboldt County earlier this year.”

“We are heartbroken by the experience this patient had while with us and have reached out to her today in an effort to express our deepest apologies.”

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“This was a tragic situation that did not meet our high standards of safe, quality and compassionate care. We are immediately revamping our medical emergency training, education and escalation processes to ensure this does not happen again and to ensure our care teams have the training and support they need to provide the best possible care for every patient we serve .”

“As devastated as we are, we can’t even imagine what the patient and her family went through. We will learn from this and renew our commitment to ensuring that the care and experience we provide matches our high standards, every time and in every care setting.”

Mad River, the hospital that ultimately treated Nusslock, is closing its maternity ward soon, The New York Times reports, meaning treatment options in the area will be further limited.

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Source: HIS Education