Bill Summary
House Bill 2199 establishes in Hawaii law an individual right to bodily autonomy and personal health care decision-making, including the right to accept or refuse any medical intervention, test, treatment, or vaccine based on personal, religious, or conscientious beliefs. It prohibits the state, its subdivisions, employers, businesses, schools, and other entities from denying rights, benefits, employment, education, or travel based on a person’s health care choices, and affirms that these protections apply even during public health emergencies while preserving parents’ authority to make decisions for their minor children. The bill also directs the Department of Health to review and amend its rules on mandatory immunizations and medical procedures to conform to these protections and to report any conflicting statutes to the legislature.
House Bill 2199 establishes in Hawaii law an individual right to bodily autonomy and personal health care decision-making, including the right to accept or refuse any medical intervention, test, treatment, or vaccine based on personal, religious, or conscientious beliefs. It prohibits the state, its subdivisions, employers, businesses, schools, and other entities from denying rights, benefits, employment, education, or travel based on a person’s health care choices, and affirms that these protections apply even during public health emergencies while preserving parents’ authority to make decisions for their minor children. The bill also directs the Department of Health to review and amend its rules on mandatory immunizations and medical procedures to conform to these protections and to report any conflicting statutes to the legislature.
Why It Matters to MAHA
The MAHA Movement supports this bill because it enshrines informed consent, medical freedom, and bodily autonomy as core legal rights, preventing coercive health mandates and discrimination based on personal medical choices. By limiting the power of governments, employers, and institutions to pressure or punish individuals over vaccines and other interventions, HB 2199 advances MAHA’s commitment to respecting individual sovereignty in health and protecting families from one-size-fits-all medical policies.