HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0016.004 2024-2026LIJ
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wain i
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAI'I
RECEIVED
Time E. 00 AM ny
Date 2024 OEC i
Committee: Hawaii County Council
Hearing Date/Time:Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 9:oo am
Location: Kona Council Chambers, West Hawai'i Civic Center
Re: SUPPORT of Resolution No. 26-25 which urges the Legislature to
permanently exempt birth attendants from state licensure
requirements and to expand eligibility criteria for midwifery
licensure.
Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and Council Members:
The ACLU of Hawaii is a non-profit, non -partisan organization dedicated to
safeguarding and advancing civil rights and liberties enshrined in our federal and
Hawai'i Constitutions. We strongly support Resolution No. 26-25, which urges the
Hawai'i State Legislature to permanently exempt birth attendants from state licensure
requirements and expand the eligibility criteria for midwifery licensure.
ACLU of Hawai'i supports this proposed legislation as it aligns with our mandate to
advance reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, privacy, traditional and customary
rights and equitable access to health care.
Reproductive freedom does not simply mean access to abortion. Broadly speaking, it
includes a person's right to make decisions relating to procreation, contraception,
abortion, IVF1, reproductive health care, the manner in which one gives birth,
whom they choose they give birth with, and much more.
Hawaii's Legacy as a Champion for Reproductive Freedom
Hawai'i has a long track record of protecting reproductive freedom as a fundamental
right guaranteed under article 1, sections 3, 5, and 6 of the Hawaii State Constitution.
In 1970, Hawaii was the first state to legalize abortion. In the aftermath of Roe vs. Wade
being overturned, the State Legislature passed S.B.1 that expands access to reproductive
health care services and protects Hawaii health care providers from punitive legal
action from within or outside of the state relating to the provision of legally provided
reproductive health care services.2
1 The Alabama Supreme Court recently issued a decision attacking WIT that forced WIT providers across
the state to halt services, leaving the families depending on these services in limbo.
https: //www. aclualabama. org/en/news/ aabama-courts-extreme-ruling-puts-ivf-treatments-risk
In 2019, the Hawai'i State Legislature enacted Act 32, the Midwifery Restriction Law.
Despite good intentions, the licensure law that included an exemption for midwives to
practice without a license (subject to certain restrictions and with mandatory disclosers
to clients) ended on July 1, 2023.
In 2024, our Attorney General interpreted Act 32 as criminalizing trusted traditional
midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, counselors, childbirth educators, cultural
practitioners, and even grandmothers simply because they are not licensed under the
narrow and exclusionary regulatory scheme that still exists.
C`m-rent Litigation Challenges th.e Constitutionality o ACT 42
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and the Center for Reproductive Rights are
currently suing the State of Hawai'i, demanding the judiciary intervene and find ACT
32, H.R.S. section 457-J the Midwifery Law as unconstitutional.
At the lower court level, Judge Shirley Kawamura has ruled that HRS 457-J violates the
Hawai'i State Constitution's protections for Native Hawaiian's traditional and
customary rights and has issued a temporary injunction to stop the criminalization of
Native Hawaiian practitioners and their students.
While ACLU of Hawai'i agrees that the current law is unconstitutional and threatens to
criminalize indigenous healers and midwives and intimidates the families who seek
their services - disproportionately impacting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander
women, a legislative solution is in sight.
A Legislative Solution in on the Horizon
The silver lining is that Act 32 will sunset in July 2025. This provides an opportunity for
the Hawai'i Legislature to enact a law that supports broad access to reproductive health
services and care and will remedy the stark inequities in the current statute.
We are asking for your support of the proposed measure and to leverage your influence
with State lawmakers to repair the harms caused by Act 32.
The Urgrencuof Now
This matter is critically urgent given that reproductive health care services continue to
be less accessible to many people, especially people who are poor, who live in rural areas
or on the neighbor islands.
2https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessionsZsession2023/bills/SBi SD2 .pdf
American C€vii Liberties Union of Hawail
P,O, Box 3410
otaoMu, Hawail 96801
T:8QE3MZ59 0
F: 8€38,5 2,5909
: off ice@)aduhamah,orrg
www,aduhawai6or
We also need to consider data in order to make informed public policies. "Nationally,
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander people have the highest
pregnancy related mortality ratio among all women of races, with 62.8 deaths
per ioo,000 live births -compared to a rate of 39.9 for non -Hispanic Black Women and
14.1 for non -Hispanic white women."3
Given these stark realities, we appreciate the Council's support of this measure that
reflects a path forward — a path that advances reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy,
privacy and traditional and customary rights, and ultimately health equity for members
of our beloved community.
Mahalo for the opportunity to submit testimony in support of Resolution No. 26-25 to
expand access to midwifery.
Sincerely,
Carrie Ann Shirota
Carrie Ann Shirota
Policy Director
ACLU Hawai'i
(8o8) 380-7052
The mission of the ACLU of Hawai `i is to protect the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the U.S. and
State Constitutions. The ACLU of Hawai `i fulls this through legislative, litigation, and public
education programs statewide. The ACLU of Hawai `i is a non partisan and private non-profit
organization that provides its services at no cost to the public and does not accept government funds.
The ACLU of Hawai `i has been serving Hawai `i for over 50 years.
3 The U.S. leads the developed world in maternal and infant mortality. The U.S. ranks around 50th in the
world for maternal safety. Center for Reproductive Rights, 2024.
American Civil Liberties Union of i iwai`6
P. , Box :3410
Honolulu, Hawai`P 96801
`i il08,5522,5900
F: 808,522,5909
E: ofiicr:@aduhawaii,org
www,aduhawaii,org