California’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against a Catholic Hospital on Monday, accusing them of refusing an emergency abortion to a woman in February whose water had broken prematurely. This put her at serious risk of infection and hemorrhage.

The Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta has accused the Providence St. Joseph Hospital of Eureka, California, of discriminating against patients who are pregnant and for violating state law that requires hospitals to provide emergency care.

The lawsuit filed in Humboldt County Superior Court seeks civil penalties and a court order that the hospital stop denying medically-necessary abortions.

A Providence spokesperson stated in an email that “Providence has a deep commitment to the health and wellbeing of women and pregnant patient and provides emergency care to all those who walk through our door in accordance with federal and state law,” adding that the hospital is reviewing the lawsuit. “We’re heartbroken about Dr. Nusslock’s experience in the past year.”

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According to the lawsuit, the woman, chiropractor Anna Nusslock was transported to a hospital located 12 miles away (19 km). She was hemorrhaging dangerously by the time the surgeons reached her.

Nusslock said that, despite being pregnant with twins and having been examined by doctors, they agreed that an abortion was necessary to prevent life-threatening complications.

Nusslock said doctors told her they couldn’t provide one, because hospital policy at the Catholic affiliated hospital prohibited any intervention if they heard “fetal heart sounds” unless there was an immediate danger to her life.

Nusslock reported that a nurse had given her a bucket of towels before she left to go to the nearby Mad River Community Hospital “in case anything happened in the car”. Nusslock said that the hospital’s policy caused her “unnecessary protracted pain, bruising and trauma”.

Bonta said Nusslock’s experience was similar to that of women in Republican-led state where abortions are banned. Bonta said that in California, it’s clear that hospitals are required to provide abortions if they are medically necessary.

Bonta stated, “We must insist that hospitals follow the law at a minimum.” “That’s not too much.” You can tell how cruel it was if you’re a human.

This case is just the latest in a long line of legal battles involving emergency abortions in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that allowed the states to ban this procedure. In July, a Kansas woman sued the University of Kansas Health System because it refused to provide her with a medically-necessary abortion in 2022. The case is still pending.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in June a lower court ruling that Idaho’s nearly total abortion ban is overridden by federal emergency care law. However, litigation on the issue will continue.