[ OUR OPINION ]

Contraceptives are
better choice than abortion

THE ISSUE Lingle is considering vetoes of two bills that would give women easier access to the drugs that can prevent pregnancy.

EMERGENCY contraceptive pills deliver a way for women to avoid unintended pregnancies and two bills that would make them more easily available have been cleared by the state Legislature. Governor Lingle should either sign the measures or allow them to become law without her signature.

The bill that would have hospitals provide the contraceptive to victims of sexual assault appears to be of most concern to the governor because of objections from facilities connected to the Catholic church, which opposes abortion. Lingle has not made clear why she may veto the other bill that would permit pharmacists to dispense the contraceptive.

The governor, who has said that women should be allowed to make their own decisions about child- bearing, should find these measures compatible with her own beliefs.

When emergency contraceptive drugs are used within 72 hours of unprotected sex, chances of pregnancy are reduced 75 percent to 85 percent. Women often are not able to get to their doctors in time to get prescriptions, but pharmacists are easily accessible at night and on weekends and holidays.

The bill requires that pharmacists who provide the contraceptive work in collaboration with a physician and includes advising women to consult with their doctors and seek counseling and further health care. The state Board of Pharmacy, which supports the program, said that since it is voluntary, a pharmacist who believes a woman is not fit or would abuse the drug would not have to dispense it.

The other measure would require hospitals to offer the contraceptive to sexual-assault victims, who should not have to accept the possibility of pregnancy along with the trauma of rape or incest. About 32,000 women a year nationwide become pregnant as a result of assaults and of these, half of the pregnancies are terminated through abortion.

Abortion opponents should have no objections because the drug does not harm or interrupt an established pregnancy or cause an abortion. Instead, it prevents or delays ovulation or implantation of the egg.

Further, use of the contraceptive could reduce the number of abortions in Hawaii as it has in Washington state, where the pharmacist program has helped to cut abortions by 30 percent. The program also has had the beneficial side effects of reducing Medicaid costs by $22 million and increasing women's referrals to doctors, as well as checking the unintended pregnancy rate, according to Nancy Partika, executive director of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii.

Randy Roth, the governor's policy adviser, says Lingle has asked her staff to research the bills before she makes a decision. Both measures are sensible alternatives to abortion.