[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 43 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1085-S1086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                ABORTION

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, let me move onto why I am here this 
afternoon. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are at a crisis 
point. Republican legislatures all across the country are continuing to 
pass bills that control our bodies and, at the same time, Trump Supreme 
Court nominees are closer than ever to overturning Roe v. Wade.
  There are 26 States across the country that are likely, if not 
certain, to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. 
There is no question that these restrictions that have been enacted by 
States all across the country have an incredibly discriminatory impact 
and will disproportionately harm those who are already facing far more 
obstacles when it comes to accessing healthcare, including women of 
color, women with low incomes, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ 
individuals, rural women, and many more.
  For over 50 years, Roe v. Wade enabled women to make the decision 
about whether or not they wanted to

[[Page S1086]]

start a family. But, today, because of new abortion care restrictions, 
90 percent of counties in the United States do not have an abortion 
provider. Women are faced with impossible decisions and, as a result, 
will be forced to have babies they can't afford, didn't plan for, or 
are unable to care for, or faced to have babies under life-threatening 
conditions. And, tragically, women may also die because they lack the 
access or resources to safely end pregnancy. Abortion bans are a matter 
of life and death.
  Women across the country are under attack and so, too, are the 
healthcare professionals who provide safe and legal abortions. Today is 
Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. This day was established to honor 
Dr. David Gunn, who was killed on March 10, 1993, outside his abortion 
clinic in Pensacola, FL, by a White supremacist, anti-abortion 
extremist.
  Abortion providers are compassionate, credentialed, and highly 
trained professionals who allow women to actually make choices about 
their own bodies, their futures, and whether or not they want to start 
a family, and they do so without judgment and in the face of violence.
  Tragically, Dr. Gunn's murder was just the first known instance of a 
murder of an abortion provider. Across the country, abortion providers 
experience intimidation, harassment, threats, and violence from anti-
abortion extremists.
  According to NARAL, between 1977 and 2015, there were over 7,200 acts 
of violence carried out against abortion providers by anti-choice 
extremists. These included 42 bombings, 185 arson attacks, and 
thousands of death threats, bioterrorism threats, and assaults. Every 
single day, even right here in DC, anti-choice extremists station 
outside of abortion clinics and harass staff and patients.
  Fourteen States and the District of Columbia have needed to enact 
laws to protect abortion providers and patients, including laws that 
prohibit blocking the entrance to a clinic, threatening or intimidating 
staff, damaging property, and more. Three States have even had to go so 
far as to establish a ``bubble zone'' to protect people within a 
certain distance of a clinic. These doctors, nurses, and staff fear for 
their lives just to provide access to reproductive care.
  Being an abortion provider is a dangerous profession in this country. 
What other medical profession deals with this level of harassment and 
violence just to provide medical services, medical care? For what other 
medical profession do we have to create a bubble zone of protection?
  On Tuesday, I joined Senator Peters and my colleagues in the House to 
introduce a resolution to honor all healthcare providers who keep 
patients safe and healthy and do their part to help provide access to 
reproductive care, including abortions.
  Today, on Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, I stand on the Senate 
floor to affirm my commitment to ensuring the personal safety of all 
abortion providers and clinic staff. I thank these fearless individuals 
for maintaining abortion access to communities across our country. A 
big aloha and mahalo to these courageous people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.

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