Open-records law
needs to be heededThe issue: The University of Hawaii
finally agreed to disclose terms
of a legal settlementCONTENTS of the settlement of a cloning researcher's lawsuit against the University of Hawaii have turned out to be less revealing than the struggle required to make them public. Despite long-established laws requiring that state records be open to public inspection, some state officials and lawyers still must be dragged into compliance. Moya Gray, the administrator of Hawaii's open-records law, calls the latest example "a part of a culture of secrecy."
Researcher Anthony Perry sued the university in 1999, following his resignation from a UH team that made headlines by cloning mice. Perry claimed that UH's licensing of the technology to a private company violated his intellectual property rights. The university countersued Perry, accusing him of divulging confidential laboratory information. The case was settled out of court last year.
When the Star-Bulletin's Tim Ruel sought information about terms of the settlement, he was refused. Walter Kirimitsu, the university's senior vice president for legal affairs, said revealing the settlement would violate one of its terms -- confidentiality.
Ruel complained last November to Gray's Office of Information Practices, which promptly advised the university that settlements between agencies and private individuals generally must be disclosed to the public. Gray asked to see the settlement to determine if there was a legal basis for keeping it secret.
The university balked at the request. Bert R. Kobayashi, a private attorney retained by UH, claimed confidentiality of the settlement on numerous grounds, all of them specious. He agreed to reveal it to Gray's office only after she threatened to sue.
Under certain circumstances, parts of a state settlement may be whited out to protect legitimately confidential information, but Gray found no redaction was necessary in this case. In a letter baring the entire settlement, Susan R. Kern, an attorney for Gray's office, reminded the university that a confidentiality provision in a settlement involving any state agency that "contravenes the agency's duty to the public" is impermissible under state law.
The settlement, we finally learned, involved no exchange of money, and all complaints were dropped.
The failure by lawyers for state agencies to recognize the disclosure law by entering into confidential agreements carries the risk of unraveling legal settlements. The blame for that risk rests not on media inquiries but on attorneys who refuse to accept the public's right to know.
Abortion rights
battles resurfaceThe issue: A state agency
would require parents' permission
for abortions for minors.A new policy to require minors to get the consent of their parents for abortions appears to be a move by state hospitals for clarification of Hawaii law, rather than an attempt to circumvent established reproductive rights. Not so with the Bush administration's decision to broaden the definition of a child for health-care coverage of low-income women.
The Hawaii Health Systems Corp., which manages 12 state hospitals, argues that -- absent specific exemptions for parental approval before performing abortions on unmarried girls younger than 18 -- it will institute the broader requirement that parental consent is needed before any medical treatment on minors. The policy was adopted as a means of protecting the hospitals from being sued by parents, a liability left open, HHSC officials say, because of ambiguous state laws.
The U.S. and state constitutions, however, guarantee minors access to abortions. Federal courts have upheld parental-consent laws, but only if they allow minors to go to court to get permission, particularly important if incest or abusive parents may be involved. The policy would severely limit abortions for minors on the neighbor islands where HHSC hospitals can be the only option.
The issue will likely emerge in the courts; the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood of Hawaii have both indicated they will challenge the policy. Legislators contend that even though state statutes are silent on parental consent, the constitution affords females reproductive rights, including minors. If clarification is necessary, lawmakers should address the problem.
The decision to have an abortion is a private matter and should not be left to hospital administrators or government entities to dictate. To do so would erode the reproductive rights of women set by Roe vs. Wade 29 years ago, but that is what the action by the Bush administration is attempting.
Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, last week announced that the administration would broaden the definition of a child eligible for coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program to begin with conception. Under the guise of bringing health-care benefits to low-income pregnant women, the administration's proposal would ascribe legal rights to developing fetuses, a move welcomed by abortion opponents as a way to criminalize all abortions.
If the administration were genuine about providing prenatal health care for low-income women, it easily could have extended the program to include them. Instead, it appears that the administration is attempting to undermine abortion rights through the back door. Reproductive rights are the law of the land. If the Bush administration wants to change that, it should go at it head on.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comRichard Halloran, editorial page director, 529-4790; rhalloran@starbulletin.com
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