HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	37
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO COORDINATE the STOCKPILING OF A THREE-YEAR SUPPLY OF MIFEPRISTONE.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, recent developments in the legal landscape of the United States threaten the State's policy to protect an individual's right to privacy and bodily autonomy; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article I, Sections 3, 5, and 6 of the Hawaii State Constitution have long protected the bodily autonomy and reproductive rights of the State's residents; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1970, Hawaii became the first state to legalize abortion with the enactment of Act 1, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1970; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2006, the State took a constitutionally mandated step to secure the right to privacy with the enactment of Act 35, SLH 2006, which established that the State shall not deny or interfere with a pregnant person's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect a pregnant person's life or health.  Act 35 also removed the outdated requirement that an individual who seeks an abortion must be a Hawaii resident for at least ninety days; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992); and

 

     WHEREAS, some states have implemented laws and policies imposing civil or criminal liability or professional discipline in connection with the provision or receipt of, or assistance with, reproductive health care services, including obtaining or performing an abortion, outside of these states' borders; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the State's existing protections for privacy and bodily autonomy, some neighbor island residents are denied equitable access to reproductive healthcare since in-person abortion care is only available on the islands of Maui and Oahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, sixty-three percent of abortions in the United States are performed with the administration of oral abortifacients; and

 

     WHEREAS, two oral abortifacients are commonly used for medical abortions: mifepristone and misoprostol; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration may approve changes to the recommended administration of these medications, and the mifepristone supply chain may suffer disruptions; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2023, the Department of Health partnered with the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children to maintain a one-year supply of mifepristone; and

 

     WHEREAS, mifepristone has a shelf-life of five years; and

 

     WHEREAS, an estimated three thousand nine hundred abortions occurred in the State in 2024; and

 

     WHEREAS, youth and young adults represent a significant portion of those seeking abortion care in the State, and approximately sixty-four percent of abortions in Hawaii were sought by individuals under thirty years of age, as of 2022; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Constitution and the State's laws require the State to ensure that the rights to privacy and to make medical decisions about one's body remain uninfringed; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Department of Health is urged to coordinate the stockpiling of a three-year supply of mifepristone in quantities as determined by the Department; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Department of Health; Mifepristone; 3-Year Supply; Stockpile