Kahala Nui retirement community has sent a clarification to its independent-living residents saying they can indeed take advantage of a new law allowing the terminally ill to obtain medication to end their life.
The memo comes less than two weeks after the ACLU Foundation of Hawai‘i and the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and
Belief accused the Kahala facility of religious discrimination and of violating the federal Fair Housing Act and Hawaii law by forbidding its residents from participating in the state’s medical-aid-in-dying law, set to go into effect Jan. 1.
The ACLU had obtained a May memo from the home saying that exercising provisions of the law is “not an option” for its residents. The document cited the facility’s ground lease from the Catholic Church that forbids “any use or activity … morally repugnant to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu or inconsistent with the doctrines and teaching of the Church.”
On Monday, however, Kahala Nui Executive Director Wendy Wong wrote a memo to residents clarifying the original notice. The new memo says independent-living residents can do what they want, while those living in the community’s Hi‘olani Care Center are still prohibited from taking advantage of the new law.
The ACLU of Hawai‘i responded with a statement from Executive Director Joshua A. Wisch:
“The ACLU of Hawai’i appreciates that Kahala Nui responded to our demand letter promptly. We are encouraged that the response — and the new memorandum Kahala Nui sent to residents — recognizes that kupuna living in the facility’s Independent Living Residences may, of course, exercise their legal right to medical aid in dying under Hawaii’s “Our Care, Our Choice Act,” if they so choose. Other parts of Kahala Nui’s response require further review and our legal staff is currently studying them. We look forward to working with Kahala Nui and its counsel to ensure the legal rights of all residents are respected. We will keep the public updated on our findings and the resolution of this matter.”
Kahala Nui opened 13 years ago with two residential towers on 6.5 acres leased from the Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, which sits next door.
Pat Duarte, CEO and president of Kahala Nui, said the original memo wasn’t clearly written and was meant to apply only to residents living at Hi‘olani, where health care is provided by the company.
As for the community’s 350 independent-living residents, “They are free to do it on their own. We will not interfere,” Duarte said Tuesday.
The Malia Street complex is owned by the not-for-profit Kahala Senior Living Community Inc. and features 270 independent-living apartments and the Hi‘olani Care Center with 41 assisted-living units, 22 memory-support apartments and
60 nursing home beds.
Hawaii’s assisted-death statute, modeled after Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, gives terminally ill patients the choice to obtain a prescription medication to end the patient’s life. The Hawaii bill was signed by Gov. David Ige in April.
Duarte said officials heard no complaints from residents following the original memo and was surprised when the ACLU contacted them earlier in the month.
In a letter sent to the ACLU on Tuesday, Kahala Nui declared “unequivocally” that it does not discriminate in any way.
Kahala Nui has never denied any prospective resident on the basis of any protected status, nor has any current or past resident been unlawfully restricted in the use and occupancy of their unit on the basis of any protected status, the letter said.
