Providence St. Joseph Hospital responds to California abortion lawsuit

EUREKA, California – Providence St. Joseph Hospital has responded to the allegations and has now filed a lawsuit alleging that it is denying urgent abortion care to people in obstetric emergencies.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit on Monday, September 30, naming one particular patient: Anna Nusslock. Nusslock claimed that the hospital told her that an abortion was her only option and that her pregnancy was no longer viable when her water broke at 15 weeks with twins, but that they could not offer that service due to hospital policy.

The hospital's CEO, Garry Olney, responded on Tuesday evening, October 1st, saying in part:

“We are heartbroken by the experience this patient has had in our care and have reached out to her today to deeply apologize. This was a tragic situation that did not meet our high standards of safe, quality and compassionate care.”

The hospital also said in a Facebook post that it will “immediately review its education, training and escalation processes to ensure this does not happen again and to ensure our care teams have the training and support to they need to achieve the best possible outcome.” We care about every patient we care for.

Olney said they will learn from this and renew their commitment to ensure the care and experience they provide meets their high standards, every time and in every care setting.

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