New Hawaii law expands abortion access, protects providers
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s governor on Wednesday signed legislation expanding access to abortion and putting into law recent executive orders protecting local health care providers from prosecution by out-of-state authorities.
State Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, a Democrat, told a bill-signing ceremony that three generations of women have grown up with reproductive rights being a given after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Hawaii lawmakers acted so that would continue to be the case even though the high court overturned Roe last year, she said.
“Hawaii will continue to be a beacon … physicians need only think about their patients and need not have to worry about prosecutions or extradition,” said San Buenaventura, who is the chairperson of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
