Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, June 24, 2022

    Hirono also hosted a roundtable with patients from across the country to hear directly about how Roe and the right to abortion have shaped their lives—and to make clear what's at stake with the Supreme Court set to end Americans' constitutional right to abortion any day.

    Earlier this month, she met with reproductive health care leaders and providers from Hawai'i to hear about the challenges they face and to discuss the importance of protecting abortion access. 

Sen. Brian Schatz

    Hirono also introduced the Affordability is Access Act to help ensure access to over-the-counter birth control options, in an effort to allow people to plan their own reproductive lives, on their own terms. She also advocated to protect servicemembers' access to abortion care. In May, Senator Hirono delivered a floor speech emphasizing the need to defend abortion rights. Earlier this year, she introduced a resolution to honor abortion providers and thanked them in a floor speech on National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. Hirono also cosponsored S.1975, the Senate companion to the House-passed Women's Health Protection Act (H.R.3755), which would protect the right to access abortion care throughout the United States.

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ REACTED TO THE SUPREME COURT VOTE ON ABORTION: "The Republican-controlled Supreme Court has ripped away abortion rights from millions of American women. While this ruling won’t impact Hawai‘i, which legalized abortion in 1970, we must fight back to protect reproductive rights for women across the country. A woman’s fundamental right to make decisions about her own body are hers alone – not the government’s."

CONGRESSMAN KAI KAHELE RESPONDED TO THE SUPREME COURT DECISION ON ABORTION. Kahele, who is running for governor, said, "A dark day has come for America. With the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in the United States Supreme Court, the rights of over 36 million people to make decisions on their health, future, and bodily autonomy have been ripped away. This is unconscionable.
    "As of today, individual rights over your own body, health, and childbearing are dependent on the state in which you live. And while we should be grateful that Hawaiʻi decriminalized abortion before Roe v. Wade, it is no less of a tragedy that our nation's highest court has completely dismantled this constitutional right for all Americans."
    "Yesterday in Washington, D.C. I had the pleasure of celebrating 50 years since the passage of Title IX, heralded by none other than our own Patsy Mink. She was a fierce advocate for women, our working people, and the marginalized. Today, I shared with Speaker Pelosi that if Patsy were alive today, she would be horrified by the recent ruling.
  "I'm also called to remember Governor Burns, who in 1970 allowed the passage of a bill to decriminalize

Rep. Kai Kahele

abortion - famously without his signature. A devout Catholic whose personal religious beliefs were strictly opposed to abortion, Governor Burns famously wrote that a governor "must never let his private political and religious convictions unduly influence his judgment as governor of all the people."
    "Patsy Mink and Governor Burns are two figures of a political legacy in Hawaiʻi that champions freedom, equality, and democracy. Hawaiʻi is often at the forefront of fighting for the rights of people and protecting the marginalized. We owe it to those leaders who came before us to continue their work and perpetuate their vision.
    "And we must persist. We are not immune to tactics that chip away at these rights. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that since the federal right to abortion has been revoked, landmark high court rulings that established gay rights and contraception rights should be reconsidered. Again - unconscionable.
    "Now more than ever, we need a governor with the political courage in Hawaiʻi to double down on protecting individual rights for abortion, healthcare, family planning, LGBTQ+ people, the marginalized, and our hard working people. We need a governor who recognizes the moment that our country is in. We must protect Hawaiʻi - our people, our values, our keiki, and our future. As governor, I will champion a fight for these rights with the many other dedicated leaders across our home - now, and until my last breath."

Lt. Gov. Josh Green

LT. GOV. JOSH GREEN REACTED TO THE VOTE OF THE SUPREME COURT on abortion. Green, who is running for governor, said, "Today, the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent and struck down Roe v. Wade. As a doctor, a husband, and a father of a young daughter, I always have and always will support the right of every woman to make her own decisions about her healthcare needs.
    In America, we should never punish or criminalize people for the very personal and private healthcare decisions they make, and if elected governor I will never ever give an inch on reproductive rights for women in our state." 

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HAWAI'I FAMILY FORUM, A PRO LIFE ADVOCACY GROUP, ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT on Friday: "Since our establishment in 1998, Hawai'i Family Forum has had an unwavering commitment to build a society that strengthens marriages and families while supporting the medical and resource centers that serve women facing an unplanned pregnancy. The decision made by the court today is only the beginning. The pro-life movement must continue to work to protect life as a basic human right for every single life, born and unborn.

Hawai'i Family Forum announced "the battle is not over for us," as it seeks to ban abortions in Hawai'i. Photo from Hawai'i Family Forum

    “In Hawai'i, state law establishes an affirmative right to abortion even now that Roe is overturned so the battle is not over for us. While we are grateful for the work of all those across the nation who have stood beside mothers and children, from churches and pregnancy resource and medical centers, social service organizations that promote life, and to the legislature and courts of law, we acknowledge there is still much work to be done.
    “Instead of fanning the flames of division in the community, we all must work towards healing wounds
and for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue. We need to practice radical love and compassion toward expecting mothers who are in difficult situations. Churches and their members need to offer help and hope to abortion-vulnerable women and men. We must encourage donations to pregnancy resource and medical centers that offer resources to pregnant women who choose to keep their babies, give directly to mothers in need, or simply walk with those that are hurting by providing the resources they need the most.
    “We must also speak the truth in love about the unborn and create a culture of deep care for all life. Debates surrounding this issue will become more intense, and we need to be equipped with the facts and prepared to always advocate for the sanctity of life, as always, in a spirit of charity and aloha.”

    See more at hawaiifamilyforum.org.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.