A California deputy attorney general urged a Humboldt County judge to require Providence St. Joseph Hospital expand its emergency abortion care, arguing the hospital illegally denied treatment to women facing life-threatening pregnancy complications.
In the hearing Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General David Hauska asked for the court to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the hospital to comply with California’s Emergency Services law. He described two cases in which hospital staff denied abortions to women experiencing life-threatening pregnancy complications.
“What happened was not a mistake, it was not bad luck, and it was not an oversight,” Hauska said in court. “It was the result of a deliberate and illegal policy whereby St. Joseph withholds care from women experiencing obstetric emergencies.”
One of the cases involved Anna Nusslock, who sought care at St. Joseph after her water broke 15 weeks into her pregnancy. According to the state, hospital staff declined to provide an abortion and sent her to another hospital, providing her with a bucket and towels in case she bled heavily during the drive.
Staff at Mad River Hospital, which closed its birth center in 2024, terminated the pregnancy. The state claims that by the time Nusslock arrived, she was hemorrhaging and her life was at risk.
“Providence prohibits its physicians from terminating a pregnancy even when there is a substantial threat to the mother's health,” Hauska said. “Only once her actual life is in immediate danger, only once the alarm bells on the medical monitoring equipment are ringing, are the physicians allowed to intervene.”
Attorney for St. Joseph argued Nusslock and another unnamed woman were not experiencing medical emergencies when they were denied abortions.
“The hospital determined, based on what the physician said… that Ms. Nusslock did not have an emergency medical condition,” St. Joseph attorney Harvey Rochman said. “Legally, that is the end of the story in terms of whether or not they can be held liable for some violation of the [emergency services law].”
Rochman also accused the attorney general's office of making false statements related to the case, which he said "stirred up community concern.” He cited conflicting accounts of Nusslock’s condition when she arrived at Mad River Hospital. Rochman said that Nusslock was not bleeding in large amounts when she was admitted, contrary to the state’s claims.
“These [St. Joseph] doctors are fine people,” Rochman said. “If they had thought that she was going to need an immediate abortion because of an emergency, … they would have gotten her an abortion at the hospital.”
St. Joseph previously agreed to change its abortion policy after the California attorney general sued in 2024, but state attorneys claim the hospital withdrew from that agreement after local Bishop Robert Vasa raised objections.
Rochman denied the hospital’s policy on abortion care comes from Vasa.
"We're asking for an injunction that requires them to follow the law," Hauska said. "If they are right that they are already allowing pregnancy terminations under circumstances where there's an reasonable expectation of a threat to the patient's health, then there's no harm here."
The judge has 90 days to rule on the injunction. That decision will likely face an appeal.
