[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 23 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 23
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2023, as ``Abortion
Provider Appreciation Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2023
Ms. Pressley (for herself, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Lee of California, Ms.
DeGette, Ms. Bush, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Moulton, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Chu, Mr. Payne, Mr.
Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Meng, Ms. Ross, Mr. Morelle, Ms.
Bonamici, Mr. Trone, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Pocan, Ms.
Porter, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Jacobs, Mr.
Connolly, Mr. Evans, Ms. Escobar, Mrs. Trahan, Ms. Dean of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Bera, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Khanna, and Ms.
Garcia of Texas) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition
to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
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 this date is established in honor of Dr. David Gunn who was killed
outside his abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, by a White
supremacist, antiabortion extremist, in the first known instance of the
murder of an abortion provider on March 10, 1993;
Whereas, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v.
Jackson Women's Health Organization, reversing decades of legal
precedent affirming the right to an abortion and unleashing devastation
on an already precarious abortion access landscape;
Whereas, following the Supreme Court's decision, States across the country moved
to further restrict access to abortion care;
Whereas, as of March 2023, at least 17 States either severely restrict access to
abortion care or ban abortion entirely;
Whereas, because of State abortion bans, scores of clinics in already
underserved areas were forced to close and more patients forced to
travel to other States, increasing wait times at clinics, straining
already thin resources, and pushing people further and further away from
their homes;
Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff play a critical role in a world
where it has become increasingly difficult for people 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 people who
can become pregnant can make their own decisions about their bodies and
their pregnancies, and support their patients' decisions 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 if, when, and how to have children, to not have children, and
to parent the children they have in safe and sustainable communities;
Whereas people 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 people
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 people, people
giving birth, and their families;
Whereas the effects of the Dobbs decision were immediate and disastrous, as of
March 2023 abortion is entirely banned in 12 States, meaning a total of
71,000,000 people, or over 20 percent of the United States population,
live in a State where abortion is illegal;
Whereas restricting and banning access to abortion care creates and increases
the out-of-pocket costs and logistical burdens that patients face to get
care, which are sometimes insurmountable, forcing people to remain
pregnant while exposing the remaining abortion providers and staff to
increased levels of harassment and politically motivated restrictions;
Whereas the National Abortion Federation's 2021 statistics on violence and
disruption 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, with
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 unraveling or overturning of Roe v. Wade 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 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 country;
(2) lauds communities across the country who are proud to
be home to abortion providers and clinic staff;
(3) affirms Congress' commitment to ensuring the safety of
abortion providers, their ability to continue providing the
essential care their patients need, and the right of their
patients to access abortion care no matter where they live,
free from fear of violence, criminalization, or stigma;
(4) condemns the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v.
Jackson Women's Health Organization, 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 Congress' commitment to working toward this goal in
partnership with providers, patients, advocates, and their
communities.
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