[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 6 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 6

Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2023, as ``Abortion 
                      Provider Appreciation Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2023

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
  Heinrich, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, and Mr. 
    Wyden) 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, 2023, 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 clinic 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 established 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, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe 
        v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health 
        Organization, 597 U.S. ___ (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 country moved to 
        further restrict access to abortion care, with not fewer than 17 States 
        either severely restricting access to abortion care or banning abortion 
        entirely;
Whereas, because of State abortion bans, scores of clinics in already 
        underserved areas were forced to close and more patients were forced to 
        travel to other States, increasing wait times at clinics, straining 
        already thin resources, and pushing people farther and farther away from 
        their homes;
Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff play a critical role in a world 
        where it has become increasingly difficult for individuals to be able to 
        make essential and time-sensitive decisions about their bodies, lives, 
        and futures;
Whereas abortion providers and clinic 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 clinic staff play an essential role within the 
        reproductive justice framework, which was created by 12 Black women in 
        1994, who determined the necessity of adopting 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 the children they have 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 into the vicious cycle of having to travel longer 
        distances, find childcare or lodging, and raise money to obtain an 
        abortion and cover associated costs;
Whereas restrictions on accessing abortion care have far-reaching consequences 
        in both deepening existing inequities caused by White supremacy, 
        structural racism, and systemic discrimination in the maternal health 
        care system and worsening health outcomes for pregnant individuals, 
        individuals giving birth, and their families;
Whereas the effects of the Dobbs decision were immediate and disastrous, with 
        abortion being entirely banned in 12 States as of March 2023, meaning 
        that a total of 71,000,000 individuals, or more than 20 percent of the 
        population of the United States, live in a State where abortion is 
        illegal;
Whereas restricting and banning access to abortion care--

    (1) 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; and

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

Whereas the 2021 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 182 incidents in 2021;
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 the 
        clinic staff who support them 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 this 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 to 
        celebrate the courage, compassion, and high-quality care that 
        abortion providers and clinic 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 clinic 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 decision of the Supreme Court of the 
        United States in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 
        597 U.S. ___ (2022), which has had a devastating impact on 
        abortion providers and the communities they care for, 
        threatening the work and livelihoods of providers and clinic 
        staff, and worsening the strain on providers who work in States 
        where abortion is still available; and
            (5) declares a vision for a future where access to abortion 
        is liberated from restrictions and bans universally, and 
        affirms the commitment of Congress to working toward this goal 
        in partnership with providers, patients, advocates, and their 
        communities.
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