Hawaii ahead
of the times
on abortion

The state legalized abortion three years
before the historic Roe vs. Wade decision

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

Unwed and pregnant, 18-year-old Clara Kapana died from air in her bloodstream after an abortion in early May 1952.

The body of Waikiki socialite Patricia Steele, dead from an abortion, was found dumped between two garages in late May 1952.

A 17-year-old Kaneohe girl died within 20 minutes from air in her bloodstream after a self-abortion in July 1953.

After losing a number of its young women to botched abortions through the decades, Hawaii in 1970 became the first state in the nation to legalize abortion.

The state made up its mind three years before the U.S. Supreme Court's watershed Roe vs. Wade decision, issued a quarter-century ago today.

In a culturally diverse environment lacking extreme Christian coalitions, Hawaii has escaped the abortion spotlight that shines intensely around the country.

"Hawaii handled it very carefully and it worked. It's met a real need," said Patricia Steinhoff, University of Hawaii sociology professor and author of "Abortion Politics: The Hawaii Experience."

"Hawaii legislators and the community looked at the issue with a fresh eye. It seemed like the right thing to do," Steinhoff said. "There wasn't a highly developed anti-abortion movement. There was widespread support from Protestant churches of Hawaii. The Catholic Church did oppose it and mounted a strong but late fight."

In fact, a state Senate leader named Vince Yano, a Catholic himself, led the charge in the Legislature to legalize abortion after researching the issue for two years.

"Our state has historically been made up of many different people, which requires tolerance, which is at the heart of the abortion issue -- tolerance of choice," said Mark Davis, a Honolulu attorney and a former national board member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Pro-choice is not pro-abortion. It's pro the right to choose."

Hawaii has become a model state for safe, accessible abortion, according to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

Its report released in early 1997 found Hawaii one of only five states where the number of abortion providers increased: from 51 in the 1982 to 52 in 1992.

In a twist in its abortion history, the number of providers may decrease by three if the national Planned Parenthood shuts down its Hawaii affiliate.

Claiming financial and medical problems, the national organization began disaffiliation procedures against the state chapter's three clinics on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. A hearing to determine their fate takes place tomorrow and Saturday in New York.

"If we survive," said board member M.J. Amundson, "we'll celebrate the 25th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade by bringing Sara Weddington, the attorney who successfully argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court 25 years ago, to speak at a fund-raiser event in May."

Some Hawaii residents planned to protest the Roe vs. Wade decision today.

They are scheduled to march on the state Capitol at 4 p.m. in a memorial for the estimated 30 million abortions performed since the ruling.

"The anniversary focuses attention on one of the most serious and divisive issues in the country," said Andy Blom, Hawaii Right to Life director.

"We've seen a strong shift from pro-choice to pro-life.

"People are tired of celebrating it and want to celebrate something positive, such as fewer abortions and fewer unplanned pregnancies."

Pro-life momentum also seems to be building in Hawaii, contrary to the state's pro-choice reputation, Blom said. "When I went to the national Right to Life convention last year, they said, 'Oh you're from Hawaii, you're hopeless.'"

American's attitudes about abortion are shifting to a "permit it, but discourage it" position, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll released last week.

"The public's attitude toward abortion largely lines up with President Clinton's phrase that abortions should be safe, legal and rare," Elizabeth Adell Cook, a University of Maryland professor, told the Times.