House Committee on Health (HLT) - chair: Arakaki, vice chair: Green

Monday, February 6, 2006, 9:00 a.m. Conference Room 329

Testifier: Jean Aoki, Legislative Chair, LWV of Hawaii

Click here to view HB2059

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii strongly supports HB 2059 which would make providing factual information about emergency contraception and access to the medication itself requirements for all hospitals that provide emergency care to sexual assault victims who choose that option. HB 2059 provides services to a victim of sexual assault which can only be characterized as humane. Besides living with the horror of being physically, emotionally, and mentally abused and terrorized, she is faced with the fear of carrying the child of her rapist. Besides being provided the emergency care, the victim really needs to know her options and factual information about her options, so that she can make an informed choice. Having made her choice, she should not have to shop around for a doctor who will provide her with the proper prescription and the drug itself before it becomes too late for the drug to be effective. This option seems to be a very sensible one. While conception is not a certainty at this early stage, the attempt to prevent it is preferable to aborting a child that has been conceived. This is true for the victim’s emotional health — first removing the fear of impregnation by a repugnant rapist, and second, possibly not having to face the choice of having an abortion or having the child with all the attendant consequences of either choice.