While California law requires hospitals to provide emergency abortion care, Providence prioritizes its own anti-abortion religious doctrine over women’s lives.
Anna Nussock was 15 weeks pregnant with twins in early 2024 when she experienced pain and severe bleeding. Physicians at St. Joseph Hospital Eureka confirmed that her pregnancy was no longer viable, but “hospital policy” prohibited them from performing an emergency abortion, despite her life being very much at risk.
Nussock had to travel 12 miles to Arcata’s Mad River Community Hospital to receive life-saving care. By the time she arrived, she was hemorrhaging uncontrollably. Mad River Hospital closed its labor and delivery clinics last October, leaving St. Joseph Eureka the only hospital with a labor and delivery unit in Humboldt County.
In October 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit accusing the hospital of violating state laws by refusing to provide emergency abortion care during obstetric emergencies, citing Nusslock’s experience.
In February 2025, when Providence attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, Nussock spoke at a rally at the Humboldt County Courthouse. “There are a lot of small towns like ours with a lot of hospitals like Providence,” Nussock told the crowd. “How many people have suffered from these religious hospital policies? Too many.”
