HAWAIʻI MODERNIZES PARENTAGE LAW, STRENGTHENING PROTECTIONS FOR LGBTQIA+ FAMILIES

News Release from Hawaii Department of Human Services, December 31, 2025 

(Accuracy-inducing information in parenthesis added by Editor.)

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission welcomes the enactment of Act 298 (SB1231 HD1), landmark legislation that modernizes Hawaiʻi’s parentage laws. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the new law updates decades-old statutes to reflect the realities of today’s families and significantly strengthens legal protections for LGBTQIA+ parents and their children.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children.)

“For too long, many of Hawaiʻi’s LGBTQIA+ families have faced unnecessary legal uncertainty simply because our laws failed to reflect how families are actually formed,” said Michael Golojuch Jr., vice chair and legislative lead for the Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission. “Act 298 brings Hawaiʻi’s parentage laws into the present and centers the best interests of the keiki, regardless of their parents’ gender, sexual orientation or marital status.”

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a kangaroo court to enforce them.   It is in your childrens' 'best interests' to be ours.)

Key protections and impacts

Modern, gender-neutral parentage standards

Act 298 replaces outdated, gendered assumptions about “mothers” and “fathers” with inclusive, gender-neutral definitions of parentage. This ensures children of same-gender couples and diverse family structures are treated equally under the law.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children.)

Clear pathways to legal parentage

The law expands and clarifies multiple ways to establish legal parentage, including:

• Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage, allowing parents, including same-gender couples, to establish legal parentage without lengthy or costly court proceedings.
• Adjudicated parentage, providing courts with modern, equitable standards when parentage is contested.

These changes reduce the need for second-parent adoptions that LGBTQIA+ families have historically relied on to secure legal recognition.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a cheap and quick kangaroo court to enforce them.)

Recognition of families formed through assisted reproduction and surrogacy

Act 298 updates Hawaiʻi law to reflect current medical practices such as in vitro fertilization, sperm or egg donation and gestational surrogacy.

Intended parents, regardless of gender or marital status, are provided clearer legal recognition and protections.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a cheap and quick kangaroo court to enforce them after we tricked you into being a surrogate mother.)

Greater stability for children

By focusing on intent, caregiving and the realities of family life, the law promotes stability, continuity of care and access to benefits such as health insurance, inheritance and survivor benefits for children in LGBTQIA+ families.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a kangaroo court to enforce them.  'Stability' means your children irrevocably become ours.)

Privacy and dignity

The legislation includes confidentiality protections in parentage proceedings, helping safeguard the privacy and dignity of families navigating sensitive legal processes.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a SECRET kangaroo court to enforce them.)

Why this matters

Act 298 represents a major step forward in ensuring equity, dignity and legal certainty for LGBTQIA+ families across Hawaiʻi. It affirms that all families deserve equal recognition and that children should never be placed at risk because of outdated legal frameworks.

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a kangaroo court to enforce them.)

“The commission applauds the Legislature and community advocates who worked tirelessly to make this law a reality,” said Sandy Harjo Livingston, chair of the Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission. “This is a meaningful advancement for LGBTQIA+ parents, their children and all families who call Hawaiʻi home.”

(TRANSLATION: We LGBTQIA+ have rights to your biological children—and, now, a kangaroo court to enforce them.)

For more information about Act 298 and its implementation, contact the Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission.

(TRANSLATION: Michael Golojuch is in charge of telling you what this means.)

Media Contact:
Michael Golojuch
Vice Chair
Hawaiʻi State LGBTQ+ Commission

(See?  Told you.)

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LINK: Act 298 (SB1231 HD1)

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