HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	138
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting the Attorney General to investigate whether crisis pregnancy centers operating in the state are complying with patient privacy regulations.

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a long tradition of protecting an individual's right to privacy and bodily autonomy, including becoming the first state in the nation to legalize abortion in 1970; and

WHEREAS, the State reaffirmed its commitment to supporting access to reproductive care with the passage of Act 2, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023, which created comprehensive protections for the provision of reproductive health care services; and

WHEREAS, crisis pregnancy centers are nonprofit organizations established by anti-abortion groups whose primary purpose is to persuade pregnant women not to have an abortion through the promotion and provision of alternative services and resources for pregnant mothers; and

WHEREAS, a study published in the December 2024, issue of JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed more than four hundred seventy thousand webpages from 1,825 crisis pregnancy center websites between September 2023, and March 2024, and found that ninety-one percent of crisis pregnancy centers advertise medical services, including pregnancy tests (eighty-five percent), ultrasounds (seventy-seven percent), and testing for sexually transmitted infections (fifty-four percent); and

WHEREAS, the study further found that thirty percent of crisis pregnancy center websites promoted "abortion pill reversal", with some centers directly targeting women who might regret starting a medication abortion; and

WHEREAS, one of the authors of the study noted that abortion pill reversal currently lacks approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration and may increase the risk of serious complications, including sepsis, particularly in cases where it interferes with the completion of a medication abortion; and

WHEREAS, a study conducted by Healthcare Management Associates in 2024 found that while crisis pregnancy centers across the nation received $400,000,000 in federal funding between 2017 and 2023, these centers operate with little oversight by regulators; and

WHEREAS, a November 15, 2024, article published by Health Affairs titled "Addressing the HIPAA Blind Spot for Crisis Pregnancy Centers" noted that crisis pregnancy centers often invoke the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to collect personal information from clients; and

WHEREAS, the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, an international digital rights nonprofit that promotes internet civil liberties, has called on states to investigate whether crisis pregnancy centers are complying with patient privacy regulations with regard to the retention and use of collected patient data; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Attorney General is requested to investigate whether crisis pregnancy centers operating in the State are complying with patient privacy regulations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General is further requested to provide a report on its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Attorney General.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Crisis Pregnancy Centers; Attorney General; Compliance; Patient Privacy