California sues hospital for denying patient an emergency abortion
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(NEW YORK) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state is suing a hospital in Eureka for allegedly refusing emergency abortion care to women whose lives are in danger.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Humboldt County Superior Court, alleges Providence St. Joseph Hospital violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to provide urgent abortion care to people experiencing obstetric emergencies.
Providence St. Joseph’s is a Catholic hospital and the primary hospital services provider in Eureka, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Oregon in northern California.
The lawsuit names one particular patient, Anna Nusslock, who had her water break when she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins in Feb. 2024.
Nusslock, a 35-year-old healthcare professional, claimed in the lawsuit that doctors at Providence St. Joseph’s told her the only option was abortion, but they could not provide her the service, based on hospital policy.
“Without abortion care, I risked infection or hemorrhage, both of which are so dangerous to my health and my life, and increased with every minute that passed,” Nusslock said during a press conference Monday.
Nusslock said she was told by doctors that they were prohibited from offering an emergency abortion if her twins still had any signs of heart tones, despite her own life being at risk and the pregnancy no longer being viable.
“I was told I could not receive emergency abortion care while at Providence because of hospital policy,” Nusslock said.
Instead, Nusslock alleges Providence staff gave her a bucket and towels “in case something happens in the car” and told her to drive 12 miles to a small community hospital where doctors were allowed to perform the procedure.
Once at that smaller hospital, Nusslock said she was actively hemorrhaging when she was placed on an operating table and the pregnancy was aborted.
In the state’s lawsuit, Attorney General Rob Bonta argues Providence has been violating multiple California laws by refusing emergency abortion care to women in need.
California is requesting a court order to force the hospital to perform prompt emergency care including abortions.
“Pregnant patients have the same rights to health care, including emergency care, that any other patient has,” said Bonta.
Bonta claims Providence is barring doctors from providing lifesaving or life-stabilizing emergency abortion treatment even when a pregnancy is not viable and when doctors have determined that immediate abortion care is necessary to save the life of the mother.
The lawsuit alleges that Providence only allows the procedure if the mother’s life is in immediate danger of death by which time intervention can be too late.
“This policy, let’s make no mistake, is draconian,” Bonta said. “It has no place in institutions that are charged with delivering accessible and equitable healthcare.”
While Bonta argues Providence must provide the care under California law, federal law on the topic is less clear.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires every hospital in the United States that operates an emergency department and participates in Medicare to provide life-stabilizing treatment to all patients, but in a recent case, the U.S. Supreme Court did not confirm that the act includes abortion care.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Providence St. Joseph Hospital said, “Providence is deeply committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients and provides emergency services to all who walk through our doors in accordance with state and federal law. We are heartbroken over Dr. Nusslock’s experience earlier this year.”
“This morning was the first Providence had heard of the California attorney general’s lawsuit, and we are currently reviewing the filings to understand what is being alleged. Because this case is in active litigation and due to patient confidentiality, we cannot comment on the matter,” the spokesperson added.
“As part of our pledge to delivering safe, high-quality care, we review every event that may not have met our patient needs or expectations to understand what happened and take appropriate steps to meet those needs and expectations for every patient we encounter,” the spokesperson said.
(NEW YORK) — A growing number of people under 50 are being diagnosed with more advanced stages of colon cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
The 2020 death of 43-year-old actor Chadwick Boseman due to colon cancer drew attention to the shift, and “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, 47, announced his Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November.
A diagnosis at a younger age was also the case for Brooks Bell, a Raleigh, North Carolina, entrepreneur who ran a data analytics company. At 38, she was alarmed to discover blood after using the rest room.
She said she called a telehealth doctor, who told her it may be hemorrhoids. She decided to get second and third opinions, which led to a colonoscopy referral and diagnosis.
“I found out that it was Stage 3 colon cancer,” Bell told “GMA3.”
In a different case, Los Angeles stylist Sarah Beran’s doctors suspected a parasite could be causing her symptoms. Ultimately, she said a colonoscopy revealed the truth.
“They found over 100 polyps on my colon, a mass on my rectum,” the 34-year-old said. “And that’s when my world changed.”
She had to undergo a colon transplant and 12 rounds of chemotherapy.
Even though the pair lived on opposite sides of the U.S., their experiences brought them together after Bell shared her story online.
“I reached out and asked her how I could get involved and help, so that more people don’t have to go through what we went through,” Beran said. “And we teamed up.”
The duo dreamed up a fashion brand with a cause, Worldclass. The streetwear and athleisure line includes hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, tees, hats and totes — all designed to break the stigma about colon cancer.
“All proceeds go towards a colonoscopy fund that helps underinsured communities get screened,” Beran said. “So literally saving lives through fashion.”
Convincing people to get screenings has a specific goal, Bell noted.
“With colon cancer, we should be talking about prevention, being able to avoid the entire cancer experience, period, rather than just talking about early detection,” she said.
A proactive approach to health can make a huge difference, according to Beran.
“A colonoscopy is way easier than going through chemo and the surgeries and all the icky stuff that we went through,” she said. “So we’re lucky that we did catch ours in time and that we did advocate for ourselves. And we got in there and got our colonoscopies. And now we’re here now telling our story.”
After more than two years of gender-affirming treatments, LW, the Tennessee teenager behind a landmark case at the U.S. Supreme Court, says, “I feel normal now.” (ABC News)
(NASHVILLE) — The transgender Tennessee teenager behind a historic hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court this week doesn’t want to show her face on television but is eager to speak about a case she says has the potential to make thousands of American kids feel “seen” for who they are.
“The court has definitely ruled in ways that would make me think that they don’t exactly value bodily autonomy, but I have heard that they’ve been a little bit better about trans cases than people would think,” said 16-year-old LW in an exclusive interview with ABC News alongside her parents Samantha and Brian Williams.
The court on Wednesday will hear the Williams family’s challenge to Tennessee’s 2023 ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors, including puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapies that have dramatically improved LW’s quality of life.
While the medications have been used safely to treat minors of all genders for years, they are now prohibited in Tennessee when used to treat trans kids struggling with gender dysphoria, the distress experienced when one’s gender assigned at birth is different from one’s sense of identity.
“It’s not very comfortable being trapped in [your body] because it just doesn’t feel like you,” said LW, who reports significant improvement since beginning the treatments in 2022.
Since the state law took effect, LW now has to take time away from school to make a 10-hour round trip out of state to continue receiving care. The travel has also been a costly and time-consuming burden, her parents say.
“It would definitely be horrible for me to have to continue to go out of state to get care,” said LW. “I feel normal now.”
Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Biden administration, and major American medical associations, the Williamses sued Tennessee last year alleging the ban on certain gender-affirming treatments for minors discriminates on the basis of sex and overrides the rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children.
“Our state legislature had made such a big deal out of parents’ rights during COVID, about masks and vaccines that that’s for parents to decide these medical decisions for their children,” Samantha Williams said. “And then they made this medical decision for our child.”
State lawmakers who support the law, SB1, say it is meant to protect kids from potentially irreversible effects from treatment and that contradictory scientific evidence and uncertainty about long-term adverse consequences warrant caution.
“We made the policy decision on behalf of our constituents that in Tennessee we think this is a risky procedure,” said state Sen. Jack Johnson, the Senate GOP leader who sponsored the bill. “It is our role as policymakers here in the state of Tennessee to set those guardrails.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says the effects of puberty blockers are not permanent if treatment is discontinued and that many effects of hormone therapy can also be reversed. Long-term risks may include fertility challenges and possible harm to bone density, but the Academy says those risks require further study.
Worldwide, several countries which had previously embraced the treatments for transgender children have subsequently reversed course, citing unclear data about their purported benefits and alleged harms. In many of those places, the treatments remain available, but on a much more limited basis.
In Tennessee, there are an estimated 3,000 transgender teenagers between ages 13 and 17, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, which has analyzed Census data. It is not known how many were receiving treatments that are now outlawed or how many suffered alleged harm.
A study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics in October 2024 found the overwhelming majority of participants in a long-term survey of 220 transgender youths reported high levels of satisfaction and low levels of regret in the three to five years after receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
Major American medical associations have for more than a decade endorsed the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy as part of “individually tailored interventions” to support trans kids and affirm their sense of self.
“It all begins and ends with science. This is not about any sort of agenda,” said Dr. Ben Hoffman, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in an interview with ABC.
Clinical practice guidelines from the American Endocrine Society — based on more than 260 research studies — recommend consideration of medications to treat gender dysphoria in young people but waiting until a child reaches adulthood to consider gender-affirming surgery.
“It’s crucial that there be a deep understanding of both the risks and benefits, and truly informed consent,” Hoffman said. “And for that reason, it is, by definition, going to take months or years.”
The Williams family said the decision to use medication to delay LW’s puberty followed months of careful consultation with medical experts and mental health providers. They said they grew worried that masculine changes to LW’s body would compound her gender dysphoria.
“There is this time clock sitting here,” said Brian Williams. “The kids can go through puberty and it can have permanent effects on them. So these two things you’re trying to balance at the same time.”
“She’s not suicidal, but she shouldn’t have to be suicidal, right?, to get the care that she needs,” added Samantha Williams. “When that really hit me, I was like, ‘OK, let’s do blockers. Let’s get moving.'”
More than a year later, LW began receiving hormone therapy to better align her body with her gender identity. The course of treatment led to a reduction in discomfort.
“That was incredibly helpful,” LW said. “I feel amazing after that. You know, maybe it’s just because the gender dysphoria was so bad.”
The outcome of the case U.S. v. Skrmetti could have a sweeping impact on health care for the more than 300,000 American teens who identify as transgender, as well as the broader LGBTQ community.
“This is one of the most significant LGBTQ cases to ever reach the Supreme Court. I think this is an inflection point,” said Chase Strangio, the ACLU attorney representing the Williams family. He will be the first openly transgender person to argue a case before the nation’s highest court.
“Is this going to be a Bowers v. Hardwick type moment that sets off years of government legitimized discrimination against LGBTQ people? Or, is this going to be a Bostock moment that clarifies what we all have been assuming all this time, which is that LGBTQ people are protected under the Constitution and civil rights laws,” Strangio said.
In its 1968 decision in Bowers, the court upheld state laws criminalizing private same-sex conduct; it was overturned in 2003. The Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County found that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal.
Twenty-six states have laws banning gender-affirming treatments for minors, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
“What concerns me as a physician is that legislators are going to be able to make decisions about a diagnosis, which is very unusual. I mean, that really hasn’t happened,” said Dr. Susan Lacy, a physician who specializes in hormone management and transgender care for teens and adults at her private practice in Memphis.
Lacy, who is also a party to the Supreme Court case, agrees with Tennessee lawmakers that more research is needed on gender-affirming treatments for minors, but that a debate over the data shouldn’t deny patients the chance to make an informed decision of their own.
“I think the most compelling thing is to listen to the patients,” Lacy said. “I have about 700 transgender patients out of about 3,000 total patients, and I have not seen anybody have a serious complication — not one.”
“I think we’re just at a point where we’re still in the process of treating people and having studies that will give us more and more data to support this treatment,” she said.
Johnson said he hopes the Supreme Court will uphold an appeals court ruling that affirmed Tennessee’s right to impose restrictions on treatments for transgender minors.
“States should be the laboratories of democracy,” he said. “We should be making the vast majority of decisions about what’s best for our people, our constituents here in the statehouse.”
The Williams family says care that has improved the life of their daughter should not be up for political debate.
“I want to listen to the doctors. I want to listen to my kid. I want to take care of her, you know?” Brian Williams said.
(ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) — Residents of St. Petersburg — on Florida’s central-west coast — were temporarily left without clean drinking water after a water main break occurred during Hurricane Milton.
City officials said the break caused them to shut off potable water services at 12 a.m. ET on Thursday until repairs could be made.
“Residents and businesses should prepare for this temporary shutdown, which is expected to last until the necessary repairs can be completed,” the city said in a release.
“Repairs to the water line will begin once it is safe for crews to be outside. Affected areas may already be experiencing low water pressure or service interruptions,” the release continued.
By Thursday afternoon, officials said potable water service was back but that pressure may be low.
Additionally, officials said a helicopter from the Sheriff’s Office in Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, was assisting in searching for water main leaks.
Typically, water distribution systems are kept under enough pressure that, even when there are cracks, dirty water and contaminants are unable to get in. However, when a water main breaks, system pressure drops and pathogens are allowed to seep in.
“When water main breaks, we can see the obvious water coming out, and we think, ‘Oh, we’re losing water.’ But what’s happening in other areas of the system is the pressure is going down,” Dr. Sandra McLellan, a distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences, told ABC News.
“What is in the soils can seep into the pipes. … If there’s a water main break and there’s a lot of flooding or a lot of rainwater, then all of that sewage that’s kind of sitting around these pipes and in the soil can seep into our drinking water systems,” she continued.
Some of the contaminants may be visible to the naked eye and just lead to discoloration or cloudy water. Other containments may not visible and lead to serious illnesses including E. coli or norovirus.
McLellan said people may not realize their drinking water is contaminated until they experience symptoms of illness.
“There’s no real way to easily test for pathogens in the water because they’re kind of at low levels,” she said. “So it isn’t that everybody’s going to get sick, but, if 100 people drink the water, chances are one or two people may be drinking a part of the water that contains those pathogens.”
Dr. Norman Beatty, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine and an infectious disease physician, told ABC News that ingesting bacteria found in storm surge waters can lead to diarrheal illnesses, but can progress to sepsis in some and lead to hospitalization.”
The city issued a boil water notice for water used for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth and said it will remain in place as repairs continue.
Beatty recommends using bottled water until the water is drinkable or boiling water.
“When boiling water, start the timer once you reach a rolling boil and after one minute, let the water cool naturally. If water is cloudy, let is settle and then filter through a clean coffee filter paper or clean cloth,” he said.
McLellan said after a main break, crews will dig up the street, fix the pipes and restore pressure. She added that after pressure is restored, one flushing of the pipes should restore clean drinking water.
If people are worried about their water supply, she recommended they use a pitcher with a home water filter before drinking tap water.
“I think people think, ‘Oh, if my water’s off, of course there’s a problem. But if my water’s on, the water will be safe,'” she said. “But we really have to remember, in areas where there’s hurricanes, there’s certainly damage that could happen, so it’s better to be on the safe side.”
On Wednesday evening, St. Petersburg officials also turned off power to two sewer treatment plants in the northeast and southwest part of the to protect employees and the facilities from potential storm surges.
As of Thursday morning, sewer services were back online, and city crews were out inspecting and re-energizing both plants.
Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that the hurricane “thankfully” spared the state from “the worst-case scenario” but that flooding Is expected to continue over the next several days.
