This concurrent resolution recognizes Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 78 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 78
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2022, as ``Abortion
Provider Appreciation Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 8, 2022
Mr. Levin of Michigan (for himself, Ms. Bush, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Jayapal,
Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and Ms. Pressley)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2022, 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 abortion providers and clinic staff play a critical role in a world
where people must 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;
Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff play an essential role within the
reproductive justice framework, which was created by a group of 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 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 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 abortion care restrictions in some States have forced many abortion
clinics to shut down, such that 90 percent of counties in the United
States today do not have an abortion provider, the number of independent
abortion clinics in the United States has declined by one-third since
2012, and efforts to undermine critical supports for patients, including
family planning supports, have further threatened the work of abortion
providers;
Whereas restricting access to abortion care creates and increases the out-of-
pocket costs and logistical burdens that patients face to get care while
exposing the remaining abortion providers and staff to increased levels
of harassment and politically motivated restrictions;
Whereas the National Abortion Federation's 2020 statistics on violence and
disruption found an alarming escalation in incidents of obstruction,
vandalism, and trespassing at abortion clinics, with abortion providers
reporting an increase in death threats and threats of harm from 92
incidents in 2019 to 200 in 2020;
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 2021 marked the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade (410
U.S. 113 (1973)) was decided, and the passage and enforcement of
restrictions on abortion access and the criminalization of abortion has
emboldened antiabortion individuals and groups to continue to harass
providers and the patients they care for;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States is now (as of the date of
adoption of this resolution) considering Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health
Organization (141 S.Ct. 2619 (2021)), a case that the Justices could use
to overturn or severely undermine Roe v. Wade, and at the same time has
refused to block Texas's blatantly unconstitutional ban on abortion at
approximately 6 weeks of pregnancy, allowing Texas to ban the majority
of abortions in the State;
Whereas the ripple effects of Texas's abortion ban have been felt by communities
and abortion providers across the country as abortion clinics try to
absorb the massive influx of Texas's patients who have the resources to
travel and are seeking abortion care elsewhere;
Whereas should the Supreme Court overturn or severely undermine Roe v. Wade,
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming could act as soon as
possible to prohibit abortion and criminalize abortion providers;
Whereas Roe v. Wade alone has never been sufficient to ensure that all people,
especially Black people, indigenous people, people of color, working
class and low-income people, LGBTQIA+ people, people who are immigrants,
younger people, people with disabilities, geographically isolated
people, and people with multimarginal identities, can get the abortion
care they need;
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; and
(4) 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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