Hawaii will not cooperate with states attempting to prosecute women who receive abortions or the practitioners who provide them.
Gov. David Ige (D-HI) signed an executive order on Tuesday “protecting women who seek reproductive health care in Hawaiʻi, and medical professionals who provide it.”
“We won’t provide information about any medical provider who provides the service. And we won’t provide any information about family members or friends who help,” he wrote on Facebook.
“In these uncertain times, we must remain vigilant to ensure access to reproductive healthcare in all forms, for everyone in our community,” state Rep. Linda Ichiyama said.
Abortion is legal in the state up until viability, with exceptions for the life and health of the mother.
Hawaii joins several states that are instituting protections for both women and medical providers. There are also multiple states that have tightened up their abortion restrictions following the overturn of Roe v. Wade this past summer.
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected a petition over fetal personhood despite its conservative majority.
“This Court should grant the writ to finally determine whether prenatal life, at any gestational age, enjoys constitutional protection — considering the full and comprehensive history and tradition of our Constitution and law supporting personhood for unborn human beings,” wrote the attorneys for the Catholic group and two women who challenged the 2019 Rhode Island law codifying abortion.
