| This story has been corrected. |
Members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus say this could be the year state lawmakers pass what they’ve dubbed the Compassionate Care Act, which would require Hawaii hospitals to carry and offer emergency contraception to sexual assault victims.
"I really thought we were going to get it done last year, but I’m convinced that this is the year," Sen. Roz Baker (D, West Maui-South Maui) said at a panel discussion Thursday morning. More than 100 women’s rights advocates and community leaders attended the event at the Richards Street YWCA.
"We are one of the last states to make that mandatory," Baker said. "It’s really all about access to appropriate, quality, state-of-the-art care and … making sure that no matter which emergency room you go to, you have an opportunity, if you are a rape victim, no matter what your age, your economic status, whatever, (to be) informed about what your options are."
The caucus dedicated its legislative package this year to the Hawaii Girls Court on Oahu, a division of the Oahu Circuit Family Court established in 2004 to help incarcerated juvenile girls through mentoring, counseling and other programs.
"Lots of the strides that have been made don’t reach all of the girls in the community — girls who are in the juvenile justice system, who have troubles in school, who are traumatized because of other abuse in their life," said Karen M. Radius, founding judge of the Hawaii Girls Court.
Baker said the bill, Senate Bill 526, advanced out of the Senate Health Committee on Monday and is on its way to the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee. She said the caucus has been working on the bill for more than a decade and that opposition typically has come from the House.
The Senate committee heard testimony in opposition from Walter Yoshimitsu, executive director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference, who said he believes an abortion has occurred if the pill prevents implantation of a fertilized egg.
"My commitment is also to make that one of the top priorities coming out of the Women’s Legislative Caucus package," said Rep. Della Au Belatti (D, Moiliili-Makiki-Tantalus), House Health Committee chairwoman.
Belatti said the committee plans to hear the House version of the bill, House Bill 411, on Wednesday.
The Women’s Legislative Caucus is a bipartisan group that comprises all 24 women in the Hawaii Legislature — 16 representatives and eight senators. Women make up nearly one-third of the Legislature’s 76 members, well above the national average of 24.1 percent.
Legislators present also discussed their individual goals for the session, along with the status of women in leadership roles and the community.
Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe) said one of her priorities for the session is early childhood education.
"It’s going to be a hard sell because it requires money," she said. "It’s even going to require a constitutional amendment. But if we’re serious about short- and long-term gains for this state and we want to make a difference for our economy, for our future, the quality of life for our children … then we’ve got to invest now."
Newly elected Rep. Beth Fukumoto (R, Mililani-Mililani Mauka-Waipio Acres) said she also is focusing on child safety and welfare.
"I think there are a lot of issues that we can find common ground on whether we’re Democrats (or) Republicans," Fukumoto said. "I think no matter where you stand in the political structure, you understand that we have to take care of children."
The Women’s Legislative Caucus package this year contains 14 bills and three resolutions. It includes legislation to:
» Require warning signs to be posted in liquor-selling establishments alerting patrons to the risks of drinking alcohol while pregnant.
» Prohibit courts from awarding child custody or visitation rights to a person convicted of rape or sexual assault that produced the child in question.
» Provide money for a comprehensive breast and cervical cancer control program.
» Require employers with 20 or more employees to provide reasonable time and a clean location for women to breast-feed, and exempt breast-feeding mothers from jury duty.
Bills and resolutions must be approved by 75 percent of the caucus members to be included in the legislative wish list.
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Correction: A previous version of this story attributed the statement that begins: "Lots of the strides that have been made don’t reach all of the girls in the community …" to state Rep. Linda Ichiyama.
