Dignity Health sued over emergency abortion denials

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A California woman sued Dignity Health on Friday after two of its hospitals refused to perform an emergency abortion, or even present one as an option, when her water broke before fetal viability.

Plaintiffs Rachel Harrison and Marcell Johnson claim the Catholic health system violated multiple state laws by denying Harrison an emergency abortion due to “religiously motivated restrictions.”

“While publicly touting their hospitals’ qualifications as reliable emergency services centers, Dignity Health prioritized its own religious directives over the best interests of Rachel’s health and well-being,” the plaintiffs say in the complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court.

According to the complaint, Harrison and Johnson, her partner, went to Mercy San Juan Medical Center on Sept. 13, 2024, after Harrison’s water broke at 17 weeks of pregnancy.

Harrison was diagnosed with previable preterm premature rupture of the membranes and told that her baby would not survive, according to the plaintiffs. However, she did not receive an emergency abortion because an ultrasound detected a fetal heartbeat.

The plaintiffs say that Harrison was sent home to complete a high-risk miscarriage without medical supervision. She eventually went to another hospital not affiliated with Dignity Health to receive an emergency abortion.

“Despite presenting with a clear case of previable PPROM, Rachel did not receive an emergency abortion procedure at Mercy San Juan. Worse, no one at Mercy San Juan even presented any emergency abortion procedures to her as an option. Instead, Rachel was told that because of the hospital’s Catholic affiliation, there was nothing more the hospital could do for her,” the plaintiffs say in the complaint.

In December 2024, Harrison found out she was pregnant again. However, on March 31, she felt her water breaking and went to Mercy General Hospital, another Dignity Health hospital, where she was diagnosed for a second time with previable PPROM but denied an emergency abortion, according to the plaintiffs.

Harrison was discharged and received care at another hospital but developed life-threatening sepsis in the process, they add.

“Like Mercy San Juan, Mercy General brazenly denied Rachel the emergency abortion care that she required and failed to transfer her, despite operating a 24/7 emergency department that was fully equipped to stabilize and treat — or at least transfer — her,” the plaintiffs say in the complaint.

Harrison and Johnson accuse Dignity Health of violating multiple state laws, including California’s Emergency Services Law and the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Their claims also include emotional distress and medical malpractice.

“While waiting to learn if I would lose my child, my own life, or both, I felt deep pain and despair. I was traumatized. There is simply no way to justify the inhumane actions of Dignity Health,” Harrison said in a statement to Courthouse News.

A hospital spokesperson told Courthouse News that Mercy San Juan Medical Center is “committed to providing the highest quality, compassionate care to every patient.”

“When a pregnant woman’s health is at risk, appropriate emergency care is provided. The well-being of our patients is the central mission for our dedicated caregivers,” the spokesperson said.

In September 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka to stop the Catholic hospital from enforcing its policy of not performing emergency abortions as long as the fetus has a heartbeat.

Bonta said the hospital’s abortion policy was incompatible with state law. Abortion is a constitutional right in California, and the hospital violated civil rights law by refusing to perform an emergency abortion for a patient, Bonta said.

In October 2024, Providence St. Joseph Hospital announced it would allow its physicians to terminate a patient’s pregnancy whenever they decide that failing to would seriously endanger a patient’s life.

Follow @mhattridge_