[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 45 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S749-S750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 6--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE RECOGNITION 
      OF MARCH 10, 2023, AS ``ABORTION PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY''

  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:

                             S. Con. Res. 6

       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

[[Page S750]]

     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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