Hawaii reacts to leaked Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade case

Many knew it was coming, but to hear the details of a leaked draft majority U.S. Supreme Court decision that would strike down Roe v. Wade was still shocking to many abortion rights advocates in the islands.

“We are horrified,” said Ann Freed of the American Association of University Women of Hawaii.

“This is not a surprise,” she said. “Given the politicization of the Supreme Court, this was inevitable. But in my mind it’s another blow against democracy. It’s very sad.”

Freed, 75, said that before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, which legalized abortion nationwide, she was among those who marched in the streets in hopes of granting women control of their own bodies.

“There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into it. I can’t believe we will have to re-fight this all over again. It’s heartbreaking.” she said.

“This will not stand. We will not go back. We will do whatever it takes.”

State Sen. Roz Baker of Maui said she was having a good day until she heard about the Supreme Court’s draft decision. She called it “unconscionable.”

“Being a female, I think it’s ridiculous that those who are not female are attempting to tell a whole gender of people that they have no control over their own bodies,” she said.

Baker, co-convener of the Hawaii Women’s Legislative Caucus, said she fears the decision will lead to a reprise of dangerous back-
alley and coat-hanger abortions in states were abortion will be illegal.

“That’s just wrong,” she said.

Another member of the Women’s Legislative Caucus is House Majority Leader Della Au Belatti (D, Moiliili- Makiki-Tantalus), who shared a similar reaction to Monday’s news.

“This is not a good opinion for the women of the United States, generally. This is not a good day for women’s rights,” she said.

Belatti said striking down Roe v. Wade will especially be bad for people in low-
income communities and women of color who don’t have the means to seek abortions in states where it might remain legal.

“I fear for women in states where they are likely to see only more restrictions,” she said.

Belatti said she’s grateful she lives in a state where abortion rights have long been protected and are likely to remain secure.

In 1970, Hawaii became the first state to legalize abortion as a largely elective procedure, three years before Roe v. Wade allowed it on a national level.

Although a devout Catholic, then-Gov. John A. Burns said an abortion decision should be reserved for a woman and her doctor. He let the bill legalizing abortion in Hawaii become law without signing it.

According to Planned Parenthood, if the draft Supreme Court decision is ultimately issued, 26 states are poised to move quickly to ban abortion, leaving more than 36 million women of reproductive age without abortion access.

“This leaked opinion is horrifying and unprecedented, and it confirms our worst fears: that the Supreme Court is prepared to end the constitutional right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade. While we have seen the writing on the wall for decades, it is no less devastating, and comes just as anti-abortion rights groups unveil their ultimate plan to ban abortion nationwide,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement.

Republic state Rep. Bob McDermott of Ewa Beach, who describes himself as pro-life, said, “My heart is happy with this. There is no such thing as an unwanted child.”

But McDermott also noted that reproductive rights have long been codified into law in Hawaii, and that’s unlikely to change.

Linda Beechinor, executive director of the Hawaii American Nurses Association, said she was horrified to hear of the draft majority opinion.

“Women will die without access to safe abortions,” she said. “It’s really sad.”

As for Hawaii, Beechinor, a nurse practitioner, said she and others will work hard to ensure the women of Hawaii continue to have access to safe abortion procedures.