Op-Ed: Students and community share views on abortion rights not only in Hawai'i, but nationwide

By Taira Aoki

Editor in Chief

In 1973 the Supreme Court case Roe V. Wade made abortions legal. This right was protected up until 3 years ago when the ruling was overturned. Now states individually have their own laws around abortion. 

Every woman should have the right to choose what they do to their own body. If a woman is pregnant and unable to financially, emotionally, or physically support a baby, it is not the choice of anyone else or any laws to decide whether or not the pregnancy may be terminated. 

I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Morally, the specific circumstances related to abortions are highly complicated. I am exclusively discussing a woman’s right to choose and not be controlled by a law regarding her own body.

Thirteen states have a total abortion ban. In multiple cases, women in abortion-banned states have been denied medical care and this resulted in their deaths.

Marina Dunbar’s article for The Guardian that was published on November 1, 2025 shares the story of a Texas woman, Neveah Crain. She went to an emergency room three separate times and was denied care the first two visits. Her medical records showed she had sepsis but the hospital did nothing because the fetus still had a heart beat. On Crain's third visit, a gynecologist required two ultrasounds to confirm “fetal demise," before doctors were willing to help her. Crain died hours later due to organ failure. The reason Crain was denied care for so long was due to the abortion ban in Texas. Medical professionals feared legal repercussion for helping. If they had acted sooner, Crain's fate may have been different. 

A report from GEPI (Gender Equity Policy Institute) said, “Mothers living in states that banned abortion (were) nearly two times as likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon after giving birth, compared to mothers living in supportive states where abortion was legal and accessible.” To support this, the report added, “Maternal mortality rose 56% in Texas in the first full year of the state’s abortion ban."

For many years, students, faculty, and parents at Konawaena schools have noticed a protester at the bottom of Konawaena School Road. When I interviewed her recently, some of the facts she shared about abortion were wrong. This suggests, in my opinion, she is a victim of her beliefs. 

For example, the protester, Debbie (who declined to give her last name) said, “It is legal in Hawaii to chop up a baby all the way up to nine months." This statement is incorrect. In Hawaii, the latest you can receive an abortion is 24 weeks after conception, according to plannedparenthood.org. 

“It’s inconvenient,” said Debbie, “you’re selfish and you worry about your life." She added that in her opinion, there is never a reason, scientific or otherwise, to stop development in the womb. 

Student Lyric Asidon shared an opposing view; “I think that women should have rights to abortions...

“There are many things that can happen during pregnancy that can cause complications,” said Asidon. She said that foster care or adoption can be an alternative but, “the foster care we have now probably isn’t.”

“If my baby was going to die… I would get an abortion or if it was a child of rape,” said Asidon.

I agree with Asidon's claims regarding abortion rights in extreme circumstances. If you were raped would you really want to carry and raise that child? Netflix is releasing a documentary on a man named Josef Fritz who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years. She gave birth to seven of his children, according to an article by Liam Quinn in People magazine. In cases like this of incest and rape, it should not be a question legally if a woman can have an abortion. 

Some people claim abortion is linked to mental health problems such as depression. Would carrying, birthing, and attempting to raise a child that you are not in a place to support not have the same effects? Every individual has a unique and personal life with circumstance different from everyone else; forcing someone to carry out a pregnancy completely disregards this and their ability to care for a child. Additionally, several organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have completely dismissed any link between abortions and mental health problems. 

Other misconceptions around health problems related to abortions include cancer and fertility. The allegation that abortions can cause cancer has been rejected by the medical community. Another concern that abortion can cause infertility. Although the method used in the early 1970s was linked to a decrease in fertility, clinics have since changed their procedures to make them safer. There is no longer any connection with infertility, according to, Healthline

Another concern is sympathy for the fetus. As a fetus grows, a neuroanatomical apparatus is needed to experience any pain or sensation. This does not develop until 26 weeks into a pregnancy, which means a fetus feels no pain during an abortion done within the legal time-frame.  

When it comes to abortion rights, many people also bring up concepts of religion. The Bible states in Psalm 39:13-16, "you knitted me together in my mother's womb" and in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." This argument is used in many debates regarding abortion rights. I am a Christian, but legally speaking, the Bill of Rights tells us that church and state shall remain separate. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Citing religion as a personal choice to not have an abortion is exactly that -- a personal choice. Religious beliefs should not determine the law or control citizens of all belief systems and circumstances.