SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A hospital in Eureka illegally denied a pregnant woman an emergency abortion earlier this year, state prosecutors allege in a new lawsuit.

The patient, Anna Nusslock, was 15 weeks pregnant with twins when her water broke, the lawsuit claims. Her doctor said the pregnancy was no longer viable and recommended an emergency abortion.

But her health care providers at Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka in Humboldt County declined to perform the procedure.

The hospital has a policy that “prohibits doctors and nurses from providing emergency abortion care so long as a fetus … has a detectable heartbeat,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press conference Monday morning.

Nusslock said she ended up driving to a smaller hospital 12 miles away, while she was actively bleeding, to receive care.

“I needed an abortion,” she said. “Without abortion care, I risked infection and hemorrhage. I needed an abortion so my husband didn’t lose both of his daughters and his wife in one night.”

Providence’s policy violated multiple state laws, Bonta alleges, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Emergency Services Law and Unfair Competition Law.

Many Republican-led states have implemented restrictions on abortion following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down national abortion rights.

“Even here in California we are not immune from this problem,” Bonta said of restrictions on reproductive health care.

“They broke the law and we are taking action to make sure they never do it again.”

Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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