STAND. COM. REP. NO.  215

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 466

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 466 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide sexual assault survivors with informed access to emergency contraceptives by:

     (1)  Requiring hospitals that provide medical care to a             sexual assault survivor to:

          (A)  Provide accurate information on emergency                      contraception to these survivors;

          (B)  Inform these survivors that they have the option to            receive emergency contraception at the hospital;

          (C)  Provide emergency contraceptives to these survivors            upon request; and

          (D)  Ensure that each person at the hospital providing              medical care to a survivor receives training                   regarding emergency contraception and sexual                  assault treatment;

     (2)  Authorizing funding for the emergency contraceptives to       be provided from the Domestic Violence and Sexual            Assault Special Fund; and

     (3)  Allowing the Department of Health to impose fines for              failure to comply with these requirements.

     Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, Oahu County Committee of the Democratic Party, Community Alliance on Prisons, and several individuals testified in support of this bill.  St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, Hawaii Medical Center, and the Department of Health opposed this measure.  Hawaii Family Forum and Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Adding a defective date to facilitate further                  discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity,      consistency, and style.

     Serious discussions need to occur before consensus can be reached between parties who oppose the provisions of this bill due to religious tenets and those who believe that hospitals should be required to provide these types of treatment.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 466, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 466, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair