III 

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; 


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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. lll (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 


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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 farreaching 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 


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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 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 


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1 (1) recognizes Abortion Provider Appreciation 

2 Day to celebrate the courage, compassion, and high3 quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff 

4 offer to patients and their families across the United 

5 States; 

6 (2) lauds communities across the United States 

7 who are proud to be home to abortion providers and 

8 clinic staff; 

9 (3) affirms the commitment of Congress to en10 suring the safety of abortion providers, the ability of 

11 abortion providers to continue providing the essen12 tial care their patients need, and the right of pa13 tients to access abortion care no matter where they 

14 live, free from fear of violence, criminalization, or 

15 stigma; 

16 (4) condemns the decision of the Supreme 

17 Court of the United States in Dobbs v. Jackson 

18 Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. lll 

19 (2022), which has had a devastating impact on abor20 tion providers and the communities they care for, 

21 threatening the work and livelihoods of providers 

22 and clinic staff, and worsening the strain on pro23 viders who work in States where abortion is still 

24 available; and 


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1 (5) declares a vision for a future where access 

2 to abortion is liberated from restrictions and bans 

3 universally, and affirms the commitment of Congress 

4 to working toward this goal in partnership with pro5 viders, patients, advocates, and their communities. 

Æ 


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