Column: The fight to protect women’s rights should be nonpartisan

Years ago, I ran for the state House of Representatives against a sitting Democrat, who was one of the founders of the Hawaii Right to Life movement. As a pro-choice Republican candidate, I informed voters of his and my positions, and won. Being older, I could remember brutal stories of young women dying from botched abortions, some in sordid conditions. At Stanford University, an unmarried undergraduate living in the dorm next to mine, was expelled from school once it became known she was pregnant. Expelled, not for poor grades but for being pregnant. Birth control methods were primitive, and “the pill” hadn’t been invented. I was one generation removed from families of 13 or more children.

Our nation truly faces a crisis now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade. Pro-choice women and men of my generation must explain to our grandchildren, grandnieces and -nephews what it was like in our youth, and why individual control over a woman’s body plus access to safe birth control is essential in our nation.

Stop putting the blame solely on Republicans, as that alienates some who were at the forefront of fighting for women’s rights. Don’t turn this crisis into a Democrat vs. Republican political battle. Focus on the real and accurate battle to protect all women’s rights to choose once they discover they have become pregnant. And then be ready for what is coming next, where both MEN and women must act to protect access to family planning and birth control.

When I entered the state Legislature in 1990, I became a member of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, a group composed of all female senators and representatives and heavily controlled by Democratic legislators. I was told the caucus avoided “choice” issues, as members were divided on this issue. Then came the votes in the full House of Representatives in the 1990s, and when the bill involved “choice” or birth control access issues, I was surprised that 17 or so Democratic members consistently voted “no” or “with reservations” on these issues. In our Republican caucus, we were split about 50/50. So quick lesson: Having a “D” after your name doesn’t guarantee that you support women’s right to choose or access to contraceptives. And having an “R” doesn’t mean you oppose these essential rights.

While many may take it for granted that “choice” rights are safe in Hawaii, I say be careful. Don’t give candidates a free ride simply because of the “D” after their names, and don’t assume all candidates with “R” after their names are anti-choice. Start demanding that candidates, including those running for reelection, fully disclose their positions.

For those who are asking to be reelected, what is your voting record on choice and contraceptive issues? And for new candidates, demand they clearly and unequivocally state their positions. The Supreme Court, through its decision, has shown us we must become single-issue voters now, and sometimes, like in my first general election, it may mean you select the “R” over the “D.”

In this time of crisis, I don’t care about your party affiliation or even no-party affiliation. I do care if you will step up — once again for many of us — to restart the state and national fight for individual rights over our bodies.

Cynthia Thielen represented District 50 (Kailua, Kaneohe Bay) in the state House from 1990 to 2020.