[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2284-S2285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 30--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE RECOGNITION 
      OF MARCH 10, 2024, AS ``ABORTION PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY''

  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:

                            S. Con. Res. 30

       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

[[Page S2285]]

     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.

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