Hawaii Ranking: 48th

News Release From Americans United for Life

Hawaii lacks the most basic protections for women, unborn children, and the terminally-ill. The state fails to provide for informed consent for abortion, to require parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision, or to ensure that abortion clinics maintain minimum health and safety standards. It also fails to ban destructive embryo research, human cloning, and assisted suicide.

Abortion:

• Hawaii has no informed consent or parental involvement law.
• The state maintains a "Freedom of Choice Act." The Act mandates the right to abortion even if Roe v. Wade is eventually overturned, specifically providing that "[t]he State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female."
• Hawaiian taxpayers are required to pay for "medically necessary" abortions for women receiving state medical assistance.
• Hawaii maintains no enforceable abortion clinic regulations, but only licensed physicians, surgeons, or licensed osteopathic physicians or surgeons may perform abortions.
• Hawaii allows a pharmacist to provide "emergency contraception" to women without a prescription, provided the pharmacist has a collaborative therapy agreement with a licensed physician.
• Hawaii offers "Choose Life" license plates, the proceeds of which benefit pregnancy care centers and/or other organizations providing abortion alternatives.
• The state has an enforceable abortion reporting law, but does not require the reporting of information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Health insurance plans that provide prescription coverage must also provide coverage for contraception. An exemption exists for religious employers.
• Hawaii does not protect unborn children from being killed or assaulted by third parties.
• The state allows wrongful death (civil) actions when a viable unborn child is killed through a negligent or criminal act.
• Hawaii does not require that appropriate medical care be given to infants who survive an attempted abortion.
• Hawaii has a "Baby Moses" law, which allows a person to leave an unharmed infant no more than 72 hours old at a hospital, fire station, or police station and be immune from prosecution for child abandonment. The professional receiving the child must inquire into the child's medical history and provide information on social services to the person relinquishing the infant.

Legal Recognition of Unborn and Newly Born:

• Hawaii does not protect unborn children from being killed or assaulted by third parties.
• The state allows wrongful death (civil) actions when a viable unborn child is killed through a negligent or criminal act.
• Hawaii does not require that appropriate medical care be given to infants who survive an attempted abortion.
• Hawaii has a “Baby Moses” law, which allows a person to leave an unharmed infant no more than 72 hours old at a hospital, fire station, or police station and be immune from prosecution for child abandonment. The professional receiving the child must inquire into the child’s medical history and provide information on social services to the person relinquishing the infant.

Bioethics Laws:

• Hawaii does not ban human cloning or destructive embryo research, nor does it maintain any meaningful regulation of assisted reproductive technologies.
• The state does, however, regulate insurance coverage of assisted reproductive technologies.

End of Life Laws:

• The legal status of assisted suicide in Hawaii remains undetermined. The state has not enacted a special statute prohibiting assisted suicide, and it does not recognize common law crimes. There is also no judicial decision stating whether assisted suicide is a form of homicide under Hawaii's general homicide laws.

Healthcare Rights of Conscience Laws:

Participation in Abortion:

• Under Hawaiian law, no person or hospital is required to participate in abortions.

Participation in Research Harmful to Human Life:

• Hawaii currently provides no protection for the rights of healthcare providers who conscientiously object to participation in human cloning, destructive embryo research, or other forms of immoral medical research.

What Happened in 2009:

• Hawaii considered measures prohibiting partial-birth abortion and requiring parental notice before abortion.
• The state considered several bills protecting unborn victims of violence, as well as a bill requiring the reporting of possible non-medical drug or alcohol abuse by a pregnant woman to the State Department of Human Services.
• Conversely, the state considered several bills urging hospital emergency rooms to provide information about and access to "emergency contraception."
• Hawaii considered measures regulating assisted reproductive technologies.
• The state considered legislation directing the state medical board to require physician clinical practitioners to complete two hours of continuing medical education on palliative care every four years. However, Hawaii also considered a number of measures allowing physician-assisted suicide.
• The state also considered healthcare rights of conscience legislation providing comprehensive protection for healthcare providers, institutions, and payers.

Recommendations for Hawaii

                                                                            Short-term Priorities                   Additional Goals

Abortion                                     

• Informed Consent                               Comprehensive informed consent with reflection period
• Parental Involvement                         Parental notice or consent
• State Rights and Policies                    Repeal of state FOCA
• Abortion Funding                                 Prohibitions on state funding of abortion
• Abortion Provider Requirements                                       Comprehensive abortion clinic regulations beginning in 1st trimester

Abortion Bans

• Regulation of Abortifacients         
• PCCS Support                                                                                                                Direct funding for PCC's
• Abortion Reporting                         

Legal Recognition and Protection for Unborn and Newly Born

• Fetal Homicide                                     Comprehensive protections for unborn victims of violence
• Assault on Unborn
• Prohibitions on Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Lawsuits
• Permit Wrongful Death Lawsuits
• Born-Alive Infant Protection               Law requiring care for infant who survives an abortion
• Abandoned Infant Protection       

Bioethics                                                

• Human Cloning                                                                                                   Ban on human cloning
• DER                                                                                                                    Ban on DER
• State Funding of DER                           Ban on state funding of DER
• ART and IVF                                                                                           Any medically-appropriate regulation of ART

End of Life

• Assisted Suicide                                   Statutory prohibition on assisted suicide and combat efforts to legalize the practice
• Pain Management Education

Rights of Conscience

• Protection for Individual Providers      Comprehensive ROC protection
• Protection for Institutions                   Comprehensive ROC protection
• Protection for Payers                          Comprehensive ROC protection