Lawmakers heard emotional testimony Thursday in support of a proposed “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” that would come into play when an attempted abortion results in a live birth, but critics said the measure is part of a coordinated national effort to eliminate women’s access to abortion services.

House Health Committee Chairman John Mizuno said the hearing marked the first time in decades the Legislature has held a public hearing on “what some would construe as an anti-abortion bill.” He thanked the leaders of the House for allowing him to schedule a hearing on the bill, but when the hearing was over he said the measure isn’t needed.

“We don’t have the killing of newborns, so it’s my recommendation that we vote to hold this (bill). However, we stay the course and protect all lives,” said Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights- Kalihi Valley).

House Bill 1184 was introduced by House Republican Minority Leader Gene Ward, who said more than 300 pieces of testimony were submitted on the measure. Ward was the only member of the committee to vote to advance the bill, which failed to pass.

“I vote aye, but the votes for that are not here,” Ward told the audience at the end of the hearing. “This is not the end of it, but it’s a sequence of which the dialogue will take place not only in the state, but in the nation. So take heart, this is just the beginning.”

The bill contends that “new-born infants who have unexpectedly survived an abortion procedure may be denied appropriated life-saving or life-sustaining medical care and treatment and be left to die,” and would require that doctors and health care workers provide appropriate care for any such infants.

The bill was opposed by Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women Executive Director Khara Jabola-Carolus, who described the measure as “an anti-choice measure that is unnecessary and reflects a misbegotten national strategy to roll back access to safe, legal abortion in our state.”

Donna Van Osdol, president of the Hawaii Federation of Republican Women, said the bill “will help save babies from abortions that have been badly or carelessly carried out bungled or botched.”

“The end result is that a newborn baby is born alive and in all likelihood with unimaginable pain and horrific injuries,” she said.

But Ann Freed, co-chairwoman of the Hawaii Women’s Coalition, warned that horrific stories about infants being aborted and tortured or sold “have turned out to be fabricated, like much of the info- trash that is clogging the internet.”

When the hearing was finished, Mizuno thanked the audience for remaining civil during the discussion. “We didn’t move this bill, but God bless all of you,” he said. “Thank you for being here, both sides.”