OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced filing a motion for a preliminary injunction in People of the State of California v. St. Joseph Health Northern California. On September 30, 2024, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit in Humboldt County Superior Court alleging that Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Providence) in Eureka, California violated multiple laws — including California’s Emergency Services Law (ESL), the state level analogue to the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and the Unruh Civil Rights Act — by refusing to provide emergency abortion care when needed to save the life and health of patients. Most recently, on August 29, 2025, the Humboldt County Superior Court left a stipulation and order in place that Attorney General Bonta secured from Providence, ensuring that women of Humboldt County have access to emergency abortion care, and ordered the People to file a preliminary injunction motion. In the motion for a preliminary injunction, Attorney General Bonta once again details the harrowing stories of two women, Jane Roe and Anna Nusslock, who were harmed by Providence’s unlawful conduct. Absent judicial intervention, Attorney General Bonta underscores that they will not be the last, particularly in light of Providence’s newly announced, unlawful policy dictating that a physician may only perform an emergency abortion if it is the “only alternative to the certain death” of the mother.

“Providence is currently the only available option for women in Humboldt County to seek emergency pregnancy care. Despite previously assuring my office, the court, and the people of California that it would follow state law and allow women to access emergency abortion care, Providence is seeking not only to go back on its word, but to make things far worse by requiring ‘certain death’ before allowing doctors to offer treatment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We refuse to let that happen. We are filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to ensure that Providence continues following state law. This is not a game. It can be a matter of life or death.”  

Two Providence policies are at issue. The former — under which Jane Roe and Anna Nusslock were treated — allowed the physicians to intervene once the patient’s “life is at risk.” However, under Providence’s newly announced policy, even a substantial risk to the patient’s life would not be enough: a physician may only perform an emergency abortion if it is the “only alternative to the certain death” of the mother. While the new policy requiring certain death before intervention has not been implemented due to the prior stipulation and order entered by the court, Attorney General Bonta argues in the motion for a preliminary injunction that both versions of the policy violate the ESL. 

If you were denied an abortion you needed in a medical emergency, or if you were denied any other emergency medical care, you can contact abortion.access@doj.ca.gov. Attorney General Bonta recently announced the launch of a statewide survey to assess how hospital emergency departments are following emergency reproductive healthcare laws. Results from the survey will inform oversight, guide enforcement efforts, and ensure hospitals are fully complying with the ESL.

A copy of the motion for a preliminary injunction can be found here.