Aloha all,

Happy Love Day — Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day — however you celebrate it. 💗

I wanted to share an important update with all of you who signed this petition in support of protecting gender-affirming healthcare in Hawaiʻi.

The HB1875 Gender Affirming & Reproductive Care Shield Bill, which does exactly what we have been asking Governor Green to do, passed its first joint committee hearing.

And it passed with overwhelming public support.

📊 180 written testimonies in support

📊 26 in opposition

✨ Plus dozens of powerful in-person and Zoom testimonies from community members, parents, physicians, advocates, and allies.

This bill represents our best chance yet to secure legal and civil protections for patients, families, and healthcare providers who provide or receive gender-affirming care in Hawaiʻi.

It protects our providers from out-of-state attacks.

It protects families from harassment and intimidation.

And it protects Hawaiʻi’s right to make its own healthcare decisions.

But beyond the numbers — I want to share what I witnessed.

The hearing of HB1875 was something special.

We all showed up with our deeply personal stories and messages. It wasn’t easy to speak about what has weighed so heavily on our hearts for so long. Voices shook. Tears welled up. It was about our lives. Our partners. Our children. Our parents. Our close friends.

Testimony after testimony came straight from the heart: honest, vulnerable, and deeply real.

And we were there for each other.

What I saw was a community and allies who were an unstoppable force of love and mutual care.

It was beautiful. 💖

Let’s hold on to that feeling.

Let it remind us what is possible - TOGETHER - as we continue this fight.

What Happens Next

The bill now moves to:

A Second Reading vote on the House floor, and
One final House committee hearing.

We only receive two days’ notice before hearings - so please stay on the lookout for my updates. I will reach out as soon as we are notified of the next step.

Your voices made this first victory possible. 

And we are not done yet.

Thank you for your courage.

Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you for standing for love in a time when it is needed most.

With deep gratitude and warmest aloha,

Abby 💗