LIHUE — A pro-life lawsuit filed last year against the state of Hawaii is on hold, but expected to resume later this year after a U.S. Supreme Court decision is heard in a similar case.
Pro-life advocates say the law passed by the state Legislature in 2017 violates the First Amendment and the rights of faith-based pregnancy centers.
“Act 200 is the subject of two federal lawsuits challenging its constitutionality, Calvary Chapel v Chin et al., and Aloha Pregnancy Center v. Chin,” said James Walther, special assistant to the Attorney General. “Both are presently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.”
The act requires pregnancy centers to post a disclosure saying the state of Hawaii provides free or low-cost access to comprehensive planning services, including abortion and contraception services, and to provide an internet address and phone number for those services.
The plaintiffs in both cases, Walther said, sought to prevent enforcement of the law by seeking preliminary injunctions on First Amendment grounds.
“Judge (Derrick) Watson heard these motions in September 2017. The parties relied heavily on a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Harris, which considered a similar California law and was appealed to the United States Supreme Court,” Walther said.
In the complaint filed in District Court on July 12, 2017, by Alliance Defending Freedom, on behalf of their client Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor and A place for Women in Waipio, the plaintiffs say they want to help and provide pro-life information to women in unplanned pregnancies so they will chose to give birth.
“The Act, however, imposes government compelled speech upon the plaintiff pregnancy centers due to their support for pregnant women and in ways that undermine the centers’ message,” the complaint says.
Attorney for the plaintiff Elissa Graves said no one should be required to advertise for the abortion industry, especially in pro-life pregnancy centers.
Act 200 put Senate Bill 501 into law, she said. It requires these pregnancy centers to speak a message that conflicts with their core belief, which unequivocally violates the First Amendment, Graves said.
The lawsuit currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, NIFLA v Becerra, will determine the next steps in the challenge against SB 501, Graves said.
“If this lawsuit is won, it will allow pregnancy centers to be free from being forced to engage in government compelled speech, promoting abortion,” Graves said. “NIFLA v Becerra, will most likely set precedent across the nation, regarding similar pregnancy center compelled speech laws.”
On Nov. 13, 2017, Watson stayed both cases, pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case, which is expected by late June.
“Until NIFLA has been decided and the parties update their positions in response to that decision, we cannot predict what the next steps in the litigation will be,” Walther said.
Alliance Defending Freedom said they expect the lawsuit to resume once the Supreme Court decision is announced. Graves said they are currently in federal court in Hawaii.
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Bethany Freudenthal, courts, crime and county reporter, can be reached at 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com.
