Editorial: Put reproductive rights to voters

Given the insidious stifling of women’s reproductive rights nationally, state laws to safeguard bodily autonomy have become increasingly necessary. Hawaii’s Legislature is now considering three bills that would allow voters to codify into Hawaii’s Constitution the rights to access contraceptives and to abortion in certain circumstances. They deserve to be passed, so that the constitutional questions can go before voters in next year’s election.

Senate Bill 350 focuses specifically on a person’s right to access contraceptives; it has no mention of the more-controversial issue of abortion. If the bill passes, voters will decide if this should be added to the state Constitution: “No law shall be enacted, nor any state action taken, that denies or interferes with a person’s right to obtain contraceptives or voluntarily engage in contraception.”

SB 350 should be strongly supported. It addresses a fundamental right that affects women directly, of course, but also the well-being of families in general.

“The Hawaii Constitution must support an individual’s ability to make personal decisions about one’s own body and medical care through the explicit protection of the right to access contraceptives and engage in contraception,” the bill rightly states.

That generally means any drug, device or product intended for pregnancy prevention that’s approved or licensed under federal law, including intrauterine devices and emergency contraceptive medications such as “Plan B.” Retaining such access is fundamental to retaining choices when it comes to reproduction. As noted in the bill, 14 states and the District of Columbia have statutory or constitutional protections for the right to contraception.

Enshrining the constitutional right to contraceptives has grown salient after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, which held that there is no constitutional right to abortion; it overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade case and nearly 50 years of constitutional precedent.

Since then, more than a dozen states have banned abortion outright, forcing people to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to access abortion care, or to carry pregnancies against their will. The Center for Reproductive Rights found that states are now dividing into either abortion deserts — where it’s illegal to access such care, mainly in the South and Midwest — or abortion havens, where care remains available.

Beyond abortion, the Dobbs ruling enabled a slippery slope that’s put at risk long-established and -assumed reproductive rights — such as access to contraceptives.

“The power to make and act on decisions about reproduction is central to how people shape their lives,” the center says. “Everybody needs and deserves affordable and accessible comprehensive reproductive health care regardless of where they live, their economic status, their race, or their identity and background.”

Also concerning is the uncertainty sweeping the nation over destabilized federal policies and program staffing. Especially worrisome is that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now helmed by the erratic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose many beliefs are detached from scientific reality and public health. It’s best that Hawaii move now, and whenever needed, to shield its own residents from unhealthy fallout from Washington.

State legislators also are considering SB 297 and companion House Bill 728, which address abortion as well as contraceptives. The bills would let voters decide whether there should be a new section in Hawaii’s Constitution declaring that the state “shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, including: the right to choose to obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus; an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the parent; and the right to choose to obtain or use contraceptives.”

Though well-intentioned, the abortion phrasing could be redundant. To Hawaii’s great credit, a law was quickly enacted in 2023, post-Dobbs, affirming the right to abortions here, including for those coming from abortion-ban states; it also protects health care workers who perform the procedures.

Still, given the ominous creep to control reproductive rights — and to subjugate women, in particular — any and all safeguards would be welcome. These bills are steps toward that.