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HB866
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
866
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING
TO HEALTH CARE
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that the people of
Hawaii have a long tradition of protecting an individual's right to privacy and
bodily autonomy independently of, and more broadly than, the federal
constitution.
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In 1970, the State became
the first state in the nation to legalize abortion with the enactment of Act 1,
Session Laws of Hawaii 1970.
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In 1978,
the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention proposed, and the electorate
approved, an amendment to explicitly codify the right to privacy in article I,
section 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution.
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In 2006, the legislature took one of its constitutionally required
affirmative steps to implement the right to privacy by passing Act 35, Session
Laws of Hawaii 2006, which established that the State shall not deny or
interfere with a pregnant person's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a
nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect a pregnant person's
life or health.
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Act 35 also removed the
outdated requirement that individuals who seek an abortion be a Hawaii resident
for at least ninety days.
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However, the legislature further
finds that existing developments in the legal landscape threaten the State's
policy
to protect an individual's right to privacy and
personal autonomy over one's body within state boundaries
.
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In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United
States held in
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
, 142 S.Ct.
2228 (2022), that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to an
abortion.
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Dobbs
overrules
Roe
v. Wade
, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern
Pennsylvania v. Casey
, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), and the nearly fifty years of
federal precedent regarding reproductive rights.
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The impact of
Dobbs
has resulted in
many states either banning or severely restricting access to abortion.
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Additionally, some states are pursuing laws
or policies purporting to impose civil or criminal liability or professional
discipline in connection with the provision or receipt of, or assistance with,
reproductive health care services outside of these states' borders.
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It is the policy of this State that
the rights of equality, liberty, and privacy guaranteed under article I,
sections 3, 5, and 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution are fundamental rights
and that those rights include an individual's right to make reproductive health
care decisions about one's own body and to decide whether to bear a child or
obtain an abortion.
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Due to the shifting
legal landscape regarding the right to privacy and an individual's bodily
autonomy, the legislature finds it is imperative to reiterate and bolster the
State's policy to affirm protection of these rights and freedoms within the
state boundaries.
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The
purpose of this Act is to bolster the State's policy to protect the right to
privacy and bodily autonomy within the boundaries of the State for all
individuals, including minors.
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In-person
abortion care is only available on Maui and Oahu.
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Furthermore, sixty-three per cent of
abortions are accomplished with the administration of oral medication.
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Two
medications are commonly used for abortion: misoprostol and mifepristone.
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The Federal Drug Administration may change
approved indications for these medications and the mifepristone supply chain
may suffer temporary disruption.
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Given
those possibilities, the State has a responsibility to uphold civil and
reproductive rights and may choose to stockpile medication required to
facilitate maintaining the status quo on reproductive rights.
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Other states have adopted laws or implemented
policies to stockpile abortifacient medications, including California (to
stockpile two hundred fifty thousand doses, New York (to stockpile one hundred
fifty thousand doses), Massachusetts, and Washington.
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The
department of health has stockpiled abortifacient medications in the past and
can do so again.
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Mifepristone has a
five-year shelf life.
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This Act requires
the department of health to stockpile a one-year supply of mifepristone
(approximately one thousand doses) by working with one or more local pharmacies.
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This Act appropriates $75,000 for this
purpose to be expended by the department of health.
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SECTION
2.
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The department of health shall
purchase and store a one-year supply of mifepristone, as determined by the
department of health.
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The department of
health shall coordinate with one or more pharmacies located in the State to
purchase the supply.
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SECTION
3.
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There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $75,000 or so much thereof
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 for the purchase of a one-year
supply of mifepristone.
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The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of
this Act.
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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
DOH;
Reproductive Health Care; Mifepristone; Stockpile
Description:
Directs
the Department of Health to purchase and store a 1 year supply of mifepristone
by working with 1 or more pharmacies in the State.
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Appropriates moneys.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.