The United States Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to abortion, set off a series of changes to the way that abortions would be handled from state to state.
An attempt by a federal judge in Texas in April 2023 to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for mifepristone, a drug approved by the FDA for medical termination of pregnancy through seven weeks gestation, then expanded to ten weeks gestation in 2016, was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court that for now, preserves access to medication abortion using mifepristone.
“As a physician and a Governor, I feel strongly about health care, including reproductive health care and a woman’s right to make health care decisions that affect her,” said Governor Green. “We cannot condone any scenario in which individual judges in other states seek to override decades of careful, scientific research and approvals of mifepristone by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Our state joins all others that support women’s freedom of choice and their access to all forms of safe, legal health care.”
Governor Green’s administration has been dedicated to ensuring that the people of Hawai‘i will have access to the health care they need, including abortion rights which protect women’s health care rights.
“Through the heroic efforts of Comptroller Keith Regan and Department of Tax Director Gary Suganuma, our administration has secured a year’s supply of mifepristone to help ensure uninterrupted access to this medication,” said Governor Green.
Comptroller Regan assisted in encumbering funds for a unique contract in which the state will pay only for stockpiled medications that expire before use. In addition, Director Suganuma was vital in expediting the process to ensure compliance and allow the encumbering of funds.
Attorney General Anne Lopez commented, “I will continue to fight against unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion and vigorously support and defend Hawai‘i’s laws protecting abortion access.”