A new executive order safeguards women traveling to Hawaii to get an abortion.
Last Tuesday, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed an executive order to protect women traveling from another state to Hawaii to get an abortion, as well as professionals who provide the service.
The order, which takes effect immediately, came after 14 US states banned abortion following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Some states prosecute women obtaining an abortion elsewhere and medical providers who perform the procedure.
The Texas abortion law deputizes ordinary people to sue those involved in the abortion process, and offers them a financial incentive of $10,000 to do so.
We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive an abortion in Hawaii, and we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortion in Hawaii.
David Ige, Hawaii Governor
During a press conference, Ige stressed the fact that Hawaii’s constitution guarantees privacy and personal autonomy.
Under the executive order, Hawaiian state departments and agencies won’t provide any medical records and other information to states seeking to prosecute women getting an abortion in Hawaii and providers performing them.
Hawaii, which was the first state in the US to legalize abortion in 1970, joins 14 other states in issuing executive orders that protect health care providers and women seeking abortions.
State Rep. Linda Ichiyama, a women’s legislative caucus member, was concerned that other states would sanction health care providers who are licensed in multiple states. She explained that when medical professionals are licensed in multiple states and get sanctioned, the disciplinary action on their license could affect their ability to practice in Hawaii.
We are hard to get to, and it’s expensive.
Dr. Reni Soon
To circumvent this problem, the Hawaiian Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is working with the physician’s board of professional licensure to implement policies that would ensure that providers are not disciplined by the Hawaii Board of professional licensing for providing abortions in the state.
According to Dr. Reni Soon, it’s unlikely that Hawaii will see a huge increase in women traveling to the islands for an abortion due to the high costs and the limited number of clinics available in the state.
The executive order would continue unless the new administration decided to end it, said Ige.
