Heard before the members of the Guam Legislature today was a bill to require hospital emergency rooms to provide rape victims with information and access to contraceptive pills. Sponsor Senator Will Parkinson says 22 states have such laws on the books, and he believes Guam should follow suit.

Testifying in support of the measure was Bureau of Women's Affairs director Jayne Flores, who said, "This bill deals with keeping emergency contraception available for rape survivors free of charge, and absolute necessity here on our island. In 2022 the Guam Police Department recorded 240 cases of criminal sexual conduct. Minors, those under the age of 18, constituted 82.5% of the victims in those cases. Let me repeat that: 82.5% of the criminal sexual conduct cases recorded last year by the Guam Police Department involved victims who were minors."

But Agnes White, a longtime registered nurse and member of the Archdiocese Pro-Life Committee, says not all rape victims may want to terminate their pregnancies. And she told the story of a woman she listened to during a religious retreat. "We had one participant who had been raped as a young woman in the States, and she had been in torment for over 30 years, because after her rape she was given this pill, had she conceived she would have wanted to keep this child.

"But she wasn't given that choice. In the emergency room...boom! Take this pill. Your bill states that giving this pill is standard procedure. and you talk about giving the woman information. When you've been raped you can't even process what happened."

However in a statement, Senator Parkinson says access to emergency contraception can be crucial for women and girls who have experienced sexual assault, as it can help prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion.