A bill that would protect out-of-state patients and doctors who receive or perform abortions in Hawaiʻi from being penalized has passed through the state Senate.
Senate Bill 1 must now go before the House to pass as a law. The latest version of the bill states that a licensed physician or surgeon may provide abortion care in Hawaiʻi, the state must not interfere with a woman's choice to get the procedure, and hospitals or patients may not be held liable for aiding in the process.
"In Hawaiʻi, Roe remains the law of the land," Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole from Oʻahu stated Tuesday.
Senators and abortion-rights advocates gathered in front of the Patsy T. Mink statue at the Hawaiʻi State Library in Honolulu after the bill move forward.
The bill also requires the governor to deny any demand from another state for a person charged with a crime involving reproductive health. It prohibits issuing a subpoena or participating in out-of-state or interstate investigations relating to reproductive health.
The announcement comes a day before International Women's Day and a day after a recent lawsuit against Texas. On Monday, five women in Texas filed a lawsuit against their state for denying them abortion services, ultimately forcing some to travel outside state lines for the procedure.
Texas was the first state to carry out a near-total abortion ban in September, prompting another wave of national outcry to protect a woman's right to seek an abortion in their own state.
"Texas and several other states are severely overreaching," said Kimi Ide-Foster, a board director for the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Women Lawyers.
"We do have a college here, we have tourists that come here, and they may need medical care," she said. "And those states think that it's appropriate for them to be able to go after our doctors, our providers— that is so grossly overreaching."
Hawaiʻi was the first state in the U.S. to legalize abortion in 1970 under Gov. John A. Burns.
In October of last year, Gov. David Ige signed an executive order further confirming the state's promise to uphold abortion rights and stated that any woman traveling to Hawaiʻi for the procedure would not be subject to legal punishment.
SB 1 would codify Ige's declaration and could likely increase the number of out-of-state patients Hawaiʻi might see in the future.
"Especially for our patient providers, this is a huge huge step for them because they should be able to provide the care they need to provide without fear of retribution," Ide-Foster said.
SB 1 passed in the Senate this week with 22 votes in support and three in opposition. Democratic Sen. Mike Gabbard and the only two Republicans, Sens. Kurt Fevella and Brenton Awa, voted no.
A hearing before the House has not yet been scheduled.
