Legislature revives debate on emergency contraceptives
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Lawmakers are revisiting a contentious debate about whether all hospitals, including the state's Catholic hospital system, should be required to provide emergency contraceptives to rape victims.
The Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee yesterday held a hearing on a bill that would require hospitals to educate and inform sex assault victims about emergency contraception and provide it if requested. House Bill 189 would allow religious-affiliated hospitals such as St. Francis Medical Center to be exempt from the requirement, a provision rape victim advocates and others strongly oppose.
But removing the exemption will likely prevent the measure from becoming law. Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a similar bill last year because there was no such exemption for religious hospitals. She said the measure would interfere with an individual's and institution's constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. Because of its religious tenets, St. Francis does not provide birth control or perform abortions.
The committee will make a decision on the bill today.
Emergency contraceptives are high-dose birth control pills taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Some argue that the contraceptives can block a fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus, making it a contentious issue for abortion opponents, who say life begins at conception. But Dr. Willie Parker of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center told the committee yesterday that emergency contraceptives work primarily by inhibiting or delaying ovulation and that most studies don't support the theory that the drugs can affect implantation.
Adriana Ramelli, director of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, said the religious exemption should be removed.
"We believe that all hospitals, regardless of religious affiliation, must address the compelling need of victims to have immediate access to emergency contraception if they decide to exercise their option to use it," she said.
Ramelli and others said victims of sex assault are left with painful emotions and concerns about physical consequences, including unwanted pregnancy, and that they should be able to walk into any emergency room and be informed of and offered emergency contraception.
But it's clear the Hawai'i Roman Catholic Church and others who oppose abortion disagree.
"Forcing institutions to accept and implement this unproven method under penalty of fine is unconscionable," said John Long, executive director of Hawai'i Right to Life.
Under the current bill, hospitals that do not comply face a $5,000 fine and could have their license suspended or revoked after two violations. But many who testified urged the committee to amend the measure to lower the fine to $1,000, remove the license provision, and provide that hospitals would not be required to dispense the contraceptives if the victim is pregnant.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
