MEDIA RELEASE

Honolulu – Today, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii (PPVNH) celebrated Governor David Ige’s signing of Senate Bill 2319, a groundbreaking bill that will dramatically expand access to birth control in Hawaii. SB 2319 makes Hawaii just the first state in the country to require all public and private insurance providers to cover 12 months of birth control at a time, meaning that women will only have to pick up their prescription once a year.

“We are proud to support this commonsense solution to reduce barriers to birth control in Hawaii. At a time when politicians nationwide are chipping away at reproductive health care access, Hawaii is bucking the trend and setting a confident example of what states can do to actually improve access. Everyone deserves affordable and accessible birth control that works for us, regardless of income or type of insurance,” said Laurie Field, Hawaii Legislative Director for PPVNH. “We thank Governor Ige and the sponsors of SB 2319 for taking a stand on reproductive health and rights in Hawaii.”

Consistent access to birth control gives women the ability to control when and if they have children, giving them more career and education opportunities, healthier pregnancies, and making them less likely to depend on government programs. Today, most women have to refill their birth control every month, which is a burden for many and leads to inconsistent use, and accounts for 43 percent of all unintended pregnancies. Women without reliable access to transportation or living in rural areas have more barriers to dependable access to birth control, leaving them at a greater risk for unintended pregnancies. By requiring that women get 12 months of birth control at a time, Hawaii will take a substantial step towards reducing barriers to birth control access and decreasing unintended pregnancies.

“To be truly accessible, birth control must be affordable. The passage of this bill makes that possible. Women should be able to access affordable birth control without unnecessary hurdles such as extra charges or unnecessary time restraints. Many women, especially low-income women, women in rural communities and women of color face barriers that make it challenging to get the prescriptions they need. We are proud to be the first state in the country to offer 12 months of birth control and expand women’s access,” said Senator Rosalyn Baker, Senator Laura Thielen and Representative Della Au Belatti of the Women’s Legislative Caucus.

This is the second time in the past month that birth control access was improved in Hawaii. In May, Planned Parenthood launched an innovative app allowing women anywhere in the state to securely speak to a provider and receive prescriptions to hormonal contraceptives that are then discretely shipped to their home address. Together, SB 2319 and the Planned Parenthood Care app have given Hawaii women significantly greater access to birth control in 2016, putting our state on the forefront of reproductive health nationwide.