STATUS OF REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
& ACCESS IN HAWAI'I
AAUW Hawai'i Webinar · June 2026
Elizabeth Jubin Fujiwara
Civil Rights Attorney
Fujiwara & Rosenbaum, LLLC
Information current as of June 10, 2026 · For general audiences - not legal advice
The Hawai'i State Context
Hawai'i has been a leader in reproductive rights for over 50 years
1970
Hawai'i was the FIRST
state to legalize
abortion (before Roe)
[ Photo - insert soon ]
The National Context: After Dobbs
June 2022 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
THIS IS WHAT THE DOBBS DECISION DID & Is Doing:
• Eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion
• Sent the issue to each state - 50 different laws nationwide
• 18 states now have near-total abortion bans
• Women in banned states must travel or go without care
• Doctors face criminal charges for providing care
• Medical emergencies have led to delayed or denied treatment
50
different state laws
now govern your
rights
5 States with 6-WEEK BAN *
13 States with TOTAL ABORTION BANS from the time of conception/fertilization with narrow exceptions, e.g., saving the life of the mother
*Vast majority of pregnant people do not yet know they are pregnant at 6 weeks, rendering the 6-week ban functionally total for most patients
THIS IS WHAT THE DOBBS DECISION DID & IS DOING
Source: The Nation (July/August 2025)
Act 2 (2023): The Foundation Law
Governor Green's first major bill - signed March 22, 2023
WHO
Expanded Who Can Help
Physician assistants (not just doctors) can now provide abortion care. No more requiring a specific facility type.
RIGHT
Your Right Is Protected
State law explicitly protects the right to choose abortion. Cannot be interfered with by state government.
SHIELD
The Shield Law
Other states CANNOT subpoena your medical records, investigate you, or send agents to Hawai'i to go after you.
SAFE
No Extradition
Governor MUST refuse to hand you over to any state that wants to arrest you for abortion care that is legal here.
LIC
Provider Licenses Protected
Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists CANNOT have their Hawai'i licenses revoked for providing legal reproductive care.
LAW
No Out-of-State Court Orders
Hawai'i courts will NOT enforce another state's order punishing someone for legal reproductive care here.
The Shield Law: What It Means For You
If You Travel to Hawai'i for Care...
• Your medical records stay HERE - other states cannot subpoena them
• No out-of-state investigator can legally operate in Hawai'i against you
• The Governor MUST refuse to extradite you
• Hawai'i courts will not enforce another state's judgment against you
• Your care is treated as completely legal - because it is
If You Are a Provider in Hawai'i...
• Your Hawai'i license cannot be suspended for legal care you provide
• You cannot be disciplined by the Hawai'i licensing board
• Your malpractice insurer cannot drop you for providing legal reproductive care
• You are shielded from out-of-state civil lawsuits
• Act 59 (2026) extended these same protections to gender-affirming care
Expanding Access Across the Islands (2025)
Two key measures address the neighbor island care gap
Act 28 (2025) - Permanent Midwifery Licensing
• Makes midwifery regulation PERMANENT in Hawai'i
• Creates formal licensing for certified midwives
• Licensed midwives can now WRITE PRESCRIPTIONS
• Covers nurse-midwives AND professional midwives
• Sets up continuing education requirements
WHY IT MATTERS: Hawai'i has a critical shortage of OB/GYNs on neighbor islands. Midwives fill that gap - and now have full authority to do so.
State Budget (2025) - $6M for Planned Parenthood
• $3M to keep reproductive health services running
• $3M to replace federal Title X funding cut by the Trump administration
• Keeps clinics open for low-income and uninsured patients
• Protects Medicaid patients' access to care
• Neighbor islands at highest risk without this funding
WHY IT MATTERS: When the federal government cut Title X in 2025, about 50 PP clinics closed nationally. Hawai'i's stayed open.
2026 Updates: Two New Protections
Act 59 (signed) and HB 1961 (awaiting Governor signature)
SIGNED: Act 59 (2026) - Signed May 29, 2026
• Expands shield law to cover GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE - not just reproductive care
• Protects against abusive lawsuits targeting people for accessing legal care
• Stops malpractice insurers from dropping doctors for providing this care
• Closes a 3-year gap: providers were shielded for abortion but NOT for trans health care
• Protects Hawai'i families with transgender children from out-of-state investigations
PENDING: HB 1961 (2026) - Awaiting Governor
• Makes it a crime to block, threaten, or harass patients or staff at ANY health care facility
• Patients can sue anyone who interferes with their access to care
• Attorney General can go to court to stop clinic blockades
• Does NOT affect peaceful protest or labor demonstration rights
• CONTEXT: Protesters at Beretania St. Planned Parenthood have been blocking driveways and harassing patients
• A patient described a man approaching her and her 5-year-old outside the clinic
The Biggest Gap: A Constitutional Amendment Has Failed 4 Times
Why This Matters
Regular state LAW (what we have now):
Any future legislature can change or repeal these protections with a simple majority vote
Constitutional AMENDMENT (what we need):
Only the VOTERS can change a constitutional right - not the legislature
Voters in Ohio, Michigan & Montana approved similar amendments by wide margins
The Senate passed this amendment 4 consecutive times. The House never voted on it.
2023
SB 1167
House: no vote
2024
SB 3252
Died in committee
2025
SB 297/HB 728
House: no vote
2026
Renewed
Died May 8, 2026
If the political climate ever shifts, your rights could be reduced - without you ever getting to vote on it.
Anti-Abortion Bills in Hawai'i: Know the Playbook
None have passed - but introduced every session as part of a national strategy
National anti-abortion organizations draft 'model bills' and introduce them in all 50 states - even states where they won't pass. They generate media coverage, consume committee resources, and normalize the debate. Hawai'i has seen four types:
Heartbeat Bill
HB 685 (2023)
Bans abortion at ~6 weeks - before most women know they're pregnant. In practice, a near-TOTAL BAN.
Abortion Survivors Act
SB 266/HB 510 (2023)
SB 213/HB 1402 (2025-26)
Forces doctors to perform futile interventions under threat of MURDER CHARGES. Medical board opposed.
Medication Abortion Ban
HB 1275 (2023)
Would ban the abortion pill - the most common form of abortion in the U.S. The Hawai’i Medical Board & the Hawai’i Civil Rights Commission among others opposed.
Pain-Capable Ban
SB 1271 (2025-26)
Bans abortion after 20 weeks. These procedures are almost always for serious medical complications or fetal anomalies.
None of these bills received a hearing or advanced. But they are reintroduced year after year - and that is the point.
Your Digital Privacy: A Gap in Hawai'i's Protections
The Shield Law Does NOT Cover:
• Your period-tracking app's data
• Your phone's location history (who visited what clinic)
• Your search history ('abortion clinic near me')
• Your pharmacy's records of Plan B purchases
• Targeted ads sent to people who visited PP clinics
The shield law protects you from GOVERNMENT inquiries.
It does nothing about PRIVATE DATA BROKERS.
REAL CASE: The FTC sued a data broker that sold location data identifying MILLIONS of people who visited Planned Parenthood clinics in 48 states. An anti-abortion group then sent targeted ads to all of them.
"In Hawai'i, where communities are small and everyone knows everyone, being identified as a clinic visitor can have serious personal consequences."
SB 1163 (2026): Would have banned sale of location data without consent.
PASSED Senate 25-0 (unanimous).
House never held a hearing. Died May 8, 2026.
Emergency Care: Your Hospital Rights (EMTALA)
The federal law requiring hospitals to provide life-saving care - including abortion
What Is EMTALA?
• Federal law requires ALL hospitals receiving Medicare to provide stabilizing emergency care - including abortion - if a patient's life is at risk
• This covers: severe hemorrhage, ectopic pregnancy, sepsis, eclampsia
• Religious affiliation does NOT create an exemption under EMTALA
• In 2025, the Trump administration withdrew federal guidance confirming this - creating confusion nationwide
• Some religiously affiliated hospitals have tried to refuse emergency abortion care
Hawai'i Legislature Responded:
HR 5
House resolution - adopted April 1, 2026
HCR 6
Both chambers - adoption status pending
SR 7 / SCR 7
Senate resolution - advanced committee March 31
All four resolutions say:
EVERY hospital in Hawai'i must provide emergency abortion care - regardless of religious affiliation.
"Reproductive care is health care, and this resolution helps address legal confusion." - Hawai'i Public Health Institute
The Abortion Pill (Mifepristone): A Growing Federal Threat
MAJORITY
of all U.S. abortions
are now medication abortions
What Mifepristone Means for Hawai'i
• Most accessible form of care - especially for neighbor island women
• Can be managed through a provider and completed at home
• Federal courts have been fighting over mifepristone access for years
• The U.S. Supreme Court addressed in-person dispensing requirements in May 2026
• If restricted federally, Hawai'i would have NO stockpile as a backup
• The bill requiring a 1-year stockpile (HB 866/SB 1246) failed in BOTH sessions
• Legislature passed resolutions urging a 3-YEAR stockpile - but resolutions can't force action
Hawai'i is
2,400 miles
from the mainland
Supply chain disruptions hit the islands harder. If mifepristone is restricted, Hawai'i would feel it first.
What's Still Missing: Active Vulnerabilities
Each gap is a real risk - not a hypothetical
Constitutional�Amendment
Current rights can be repealed by a simple majority vote. Amendment failed 4 consecutive years.
Digital Privacy�Law
Data brokers can sell your location history and period-app data to anti-abortion groups. SB 1163 passed Senate 25-0 — House never acted.
Critical Shortage of�OB/GYNs on Neighbor Islands
Hawai'i has a critical shortage of OB/GYNs, especially on the neighbor islands. More midwives could now fill some of that gap. Plus, telehealth — video visits assess eligibility for medication, which is mailed to patients, with follow-up over telehealth or email.
Mifepristone�Stockpile
DOH purchased a stockpile & distributed it to facilities on Kaua'i, Island of Hawai'i, O'ahu & to HMHB for Maui. Issues: no processes for accessing the stockpile or ensuring judicious use & Hawai'i is 2,400 miles from the Continent.
Insurance�Coverage
No law requires insurance to cover the full range of reproductive services. Out-of-pocket costs remain a barrier for low-income women.
Access�Coordinator
No central office tracks care gaps across the islands. Implementation of rights laws has no one looking at the big picture.
What You Can Do
Reproductive rights require ongoing vigilance - in Hawai'i and everywhere
VOTE
Support candidates who will advance the constitutional amendment. The Hawai’i State Senate has passed it 4 times - the Hawai’i State House has not.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
Urge your State House member to pass the digital privacy bill and the constitutional amendment.
SUPPORT LOCAL PROVIDERS
Planned Parenthood Hawai'i, midwives, and community health centers need community support to stay open.
STAY INFORMED
Federal and state law is changing rapidly. Follow AAUW Hawai'i and Planned Parenthood Hawai'i for updates.
SHARE WHAT YOU LEARNED
Many people - including patients - don't know their rights. You can change that.
Thank You
Questions & Discussion
Key Resources
PLANNED PARENTHOOD HAWAI'I · plannedparenthood.org/hawaii
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS · reproductiverights.org
Hawai'i State Legislature (bill tracking) · capitol.hawaii.gov
ACLU OF HAWAI'I · acluhi.org
This presentation reflects publicly available legislative information as of June 10, 2026. It is not legal advice.