Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2024, as "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day".

Bill: 118-hconres-95
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Introduced: 2024-03-07
Policy area: Health
Latest action: action_date: 2024-03-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-03-07
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This concurrent resolution recognizes Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 95 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 7, 2024 Ms. Pressley 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, 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

That Congress— (1) recognizes Abortion Provider Appreciation Day 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.