[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 30 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 30
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2024, as ``Abortion
Provider Appreciation Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 7, 2024
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
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2024, 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 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 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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