Abortion may be legal in Guam, but it isn’t common, as there are no abortionists committing abortions on the island. Throughout the whole of 2024, 36 abortions were committed, all by abortion pills. However, several abortionists could potentially be investigated by Guam’s attorney general for allegedly ignoring the island’s reporting requirements.
The Guam Daily Post reported that Guam resident Tim Rohr asked AG Douglas Moylan to investigate Bliss Kaneshiro and Shandhini Raidoo for not abiding by the requirement to give a woman in-person counseling before committing an abortion. As there are no abortionists practicing on the island itself, the only option for women is telehealth abortions, and Rohr said that means those 36 abortions could have been illegal:
Given the foregoing, it appears that 36 abortions were provided in Guam in calendar year 2024 without informed consent, as required by 10 Guam Code Ann. § 3218.1. Wherefore, I request the Attorney General of Guam, whose job it is to enforce the laws of Guam, to investigate the facts as set forth herein, and if said facts are found to be true, to bring appropriate legal action against the abortion providers.
Moylan confirmed in a statement to the Post that he has received Rohr’s request, and is reviewing his allegations.
Legislation enacted in 1990 protecting preborn children from abortion was stripped by the Guam Supreme Court in 2023, ruling that more recent legislation allowing abortion made it a “dead law.” Abortion is now legal through 13 weeks gestation. If the baby has a birth defect or disability, or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, then an abortion can be committed through 26 weeks.
An appeals court had ruled earlier that same year that Guam’s requirement for an in-person consultation before an abortion is valid.
The last abortionist in Guam, Dr. William Freeman, retired in 2018. After he retired, another doctor took his place — Dr. Jeffrey Gabel — and later stopped committing abortions.
