[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 6 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 6
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2023, as ``Abortion
Provider Appreciation Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 9, 2023
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
_______________________________________________________________________
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 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 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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