A Hawai‘i lawsuit with national implications for reproductive freedom is the topic of June 1st event

“Reproductive Freedom: Policy Trends Affecting Our Rights in Hawai‘i and the Nation” happens Friday, June 1st, at Impact Hub Honolulu



RSVPs and/or special accommodations requests appreciated by Wednesday, 5/23. RSVPs are recommended, walkins welcome on a space-available basis. Light refreshments will be served. For free tickets and event details visit: http://rf2018.eventbrite.com

Printable flyer (PDF format, letter sized - shares appreciated!): ACLUHIKayeCheliusFINALFLYER2


Abortion bans. Attacks on access to birth control. Cruel efforts to prevent immigrants from seeking reproductive health care. Women’s health and reproductive freedom are under siege and are an important topic in Hawai‘i and across the country.

A free, public discussion on current policy trends in reproductive rights and abortion access will happen Friday, June 1, 2018, from 6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Impact Hub Honolulu, located at 1050 Queen Street in Kaka‘ako. Learn more about the fight to uphold and advance reproductive freedom in Hawai’i and the nation - including an update on an ACLU case challenging federal restrictions that unreasonably limit access to Mifeprex, the abortion pill.

Leading the panel are two visiting speakers: from the National ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project located in New York, attorney Julia Kaye; and from the Island of Kaua‘i Dr. Graham Chelius, a family physician whose concern for his patients’ access to medication abortion led the ACLU to file a legal challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s rules on Mifeprex - a case whose outcome could affect access to health care throughout the entire nation.

Ms. Kaye and Dr. Chelius are joined by Mateo Caballero, ACLU of Hawai‘i Legal Director. The panel discussion will be moderated by KITV anchor Diane Ako.

ACLU of Hawai‘i Executive Director Joshua Wisch said: “45 years after Roe v. Wade, women are still fighting for the right to make choices about their own bodies, even here in Hawai'i. Men who want Viagra can pick it up at their local pharmacy, but women who need Mifeprex sometimes have to board an airplane to get it. This is wrong and it’s why the ACLU of Hawai'i and the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project filed a federal lawsuit to stop this attack on women’s reproductive freedom. We are grateful to our brave panelists and co-sponsors as they fight to make sure a woman’s right to choose is protected and respected.”

This event is presented by the ACLU of Hawai‘i with the kokua of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hawai‘i, Guam and American Samoa Section.