Hawaii Governor David Ige has announced a new executive order that underscores the state’s pro-abortion status by protecting those who travel for abortion.
At a press conference on October 11, Ige said his state will not assist in the prosecution of women who travel to Hawaii to undergo abortions; likewise, abortionists in Hawaii who commit these abortions would also be protected. “We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive abortions in Hawaii,” he said. “And we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortions in Hawaii.”
Virtually every pro-life law in the country protecting preborn children from abortion has penalties for the abortionist, but none for the pregnant woman who undergoes the procedure.
State Rep. Linda Ichiyama also spoke, saying that Hawaii legislators will ensure abortion remains legal there. “We are going to work continuously to ensure that we have access, especially on our Neighbor Islands,” she said. “And that our sisters, our daughters and our granddaughters deserve to grow up in a world where they have more rights, not less.”
Furthermore, Ige has asked the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to work with the physician’s board of professional licensure to make sure that abortionists will not face professional repercussions for committing abortions. “When we have medical professional doctors and nurses that are licensed in multiple states, if they, for some reason, are sanctioned or disciplined in another state like Texas or Arkansas … that disciplinary action on their license could have affected their license and ability to practice in Hawaii,” Ichiyama said.
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Ige’s executive order could be largely performative, as it’s not likely that women will choose to travel to Hawaii from pro-life states simply to undergo an abortion; the distance is considerable, and it is expensive to travel there — a fact echoed by Reni Soon, an abortionist practicing in Hawaii.
“We are hard to get to, and it’s expensive,” she said, adding, “This is actually about protecting our access here for both in-state and out-of-state patients.”
Hawaii is a considerably pro-abortion state. Last year, legislators passed a bill allowing non-physicians to commit abortions. Meanwhile, a U.S. senator from Hawaii recently issued a call-to-arms against pro-lifers while speaking on the Senate floor.
“When I hear my colleagues talking about how, you know, it should be states’ rights, or government should not be telling us what to do, the word ‘hypocrites,’ it doesn’t even go far enough to call them out on what they’re doing,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono. “This is an outright attack on women in this country. That is how I see it. That is how more and more women and those who support our right to make decisions about our own bodies, that is how we see it,. And why? Because that’s what’s happening. Madam President, I yield the floor, but clearly, you know, this is a — literally call to arms in our country, I yield the floor.”
