[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 30 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 30

Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2024, as ``Abortion 
                      Provider Appreciation Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2024

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. 
Fetterman, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Welch, Ms. Warren, Ms. Butler, 
  Mr. Booker, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. 
  Heinrich) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2024, as ``Abortion 
                      Provider Appreciation Day''.

Whereas March 10 has been established as a day to show appreciation for the 
        essential, high-quality care that abortion providers and staff provide 
        to their communities and those traveling to their communities, and to 
        celebrate their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work;
Whereas March 10 was selected for ``Abortion Provider Appreciation Day'' in 
        honor of Dr. David Gunn, who was killed on March 10, 1993, outside his 
        abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, by a White supremacist and 
        antiabortion extremist in the first known instance of the murder of an 
        abortion provider;
Whereas abortions are provided in-person and through telehealth by facilities 
        such as independent clinics, Planned Parenthood health care centers, 
        hospitals, and private offices of doctors, and all of the staff working 
        for those facilities are essential to ensuring patients receive needed 
        care;
Whereas, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States erroneously 
        overturned Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's 
        Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) (referred to in this preamble 
        as ``the Dobbs decision''), reversing decades of legal precedent 
        affirming the right to an abortion and unleashing devastation on an 
        already precarious abortion access landscape;
Whereas, following the Dobbs decision, States across the United States moved to 
        further restrict access to abortion care and 21 States have banned some 
        or all access to an abortion;
Whereas, because of State abortion bans and restrictions, scores of clinics and 
        health care centers in already underserved areas have closed, forcing 
        more patients to travel out-of-State for abortion care, increasing wait 
        times, straining already thin resources, and pushing people farther and 
        farther away from their homes;
Whereas abortion providers and all staff play a critical role in a world where 
        it has become increasingly difficult for individuals to receive 
        essential and time-sensitive care once those individuals have made 
        decisions that are right for their bodies, lives, and futures;
Whereas abortion providers and all staff help to ensure that all individuals who 
        can become pregnant can make their own decisions about their bodies and 
        their pregnancies, and support the decisions of their patients by 
        treating them with dignity, empathy, compassion, and respect, despite 
        numerous challenges due to abortion bans and restrictions;
Whereas abortion providers and all staff play an essential role within the 
        reproductive justice framework, which was created by 12 Black women in 
        1994, who formulated a human rights framework that demands every person 
        has the human right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right to 
        choose if, when, and how to have children and the right to parent 
        children in safe and sustainable communities;
Whereas individuals seeking abortion care across the United States also rely on 
        the work of abortion funds and practical support organizations to access 
        abortion care for themselves and their families;
Whereas abortion funds and practical support organizations that rely on 
        donations face increasing demand following the Dobbs decision as 
        individuals are forced to travel longer distances, find childcare or 
        lodging, and raise money to obtain an abortion and cover associated 
        costs;
Whereas restrictions on abortion care have far-reaching consequences that deepen 
        existing inequities and worsen health outcomes for pregnant people and 
        people giving birth;
Whereas people who are denied abortion care are more likely to experience high 
        blood pressure and other serious medical conditions during the end of 
        pregnancy, remain in relationships where interpersonal violence is 
        present, and experience poverty;
Whereas research shows that States that have more abortion restrictions are also 
        States that have poorer maternal health outcomes;
Whereas the effects of the Dobbs decision were immediate and disastrous, with 
        abortion being entirely banned in 14 States as of March 2024;
Whereas 1 in 3 women of reproductive age, plus more trans and nonbinary people, 
        are blocked from accessing an abortion in their home State;
Whereas restricting and banning access to abortion care--

    (1) limits the ability of current and future providers to obtain 
necessary education and training in abortion care;

    (2) exposes the remaining abortion providers and clinic staff to 
increased levels of harassment and politically motivated restrictions; and

    (3) creates and increases the out-of-pocket costs and logistical 
burdens that patients face to get care to a level that is sometimes 
insurmountable, forcing patients to remain pregnant;

Whereas the 2022 Violence and Disruption Report of the National Abortion 
        Federation found an alarming escalation in incidents of obstruction, 
        vandalism, and trespassing at abortion clinics, with abortion providers 
        reporting an alarming rate of death threats and threats of harm, and 
        documented 218 incidents in 2022;
Whereas Black, indigenous, and other providers and patients of color face 
        heightened levels of threats, harassment, and violence as compared to 
        their White counterparts;
Whereas the Dobbs decision has emboldened antiabortion individuals and groups to 
        continue to harass providers and the patients they care for;
Whereas the Dobbs decision threatens the ability of abortion providers and staff 
        to serve their patients; and
Whereas, in the face of multifaceted attacks on their work, abortion providers 
        remain an essential and valued part of their communities, providing 
        high-quality, compassionate, and necessary health care, and courageously 
        delivering that care despite pressures, restrictions, political 
        interference, and violent threats to their personal safety: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes ``Abortion Provider Appreciation Day'' on 
        March 10, 2024, to celebrate the courage, compassion, and high-
        quality care that abortion providers and staff offer to 
        patients and their families across the United States;
            (2) lauds communities across the United States who are 
        proud to be home to abortion providers and staff;
            (3) affirms the commitment of Congress to ensuring the 
        safety of abortion providers, the ability of abortion providers 
        to continue providing the essential care their patients need, 
        and the right of patients to access abortion care no matter 
        where they live, free from fear of violence, criminalization, 
        or stigma;
            (4) condemns the decisions of the Supreme Court of the 
        United States to limit abortion care, which has had a 
        devastating impact on abortion providers and the communities 
        they care for, threatening the work and livelihoods of 
        providers and staff, and worsening the strain on providers who 
        work in States where abortion is still available; and
            (5) declares a vision for a future liberated from all 
        abortion restrictions and bans, and affirms the commitment of 
        Congress to working toward that goal in partnership with 
        providers, patients, advocates, and their communities.
                                 <all>