S.Con.Res. 9

119 SCON 9 IS: Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2025, as “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day”.
 U.S. Senate
 2025-03-10
 text/xml
 EN
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 III  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. CON. RES. 9  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   March 10, 2025   Ms. Hirono  (for herself,  Mr. Peters ,  Mr. Blumenthal ,  Mr. Booker ,  Ms. Duckworth ,  Mr. Fetterman ,  Mr. Heinrich ,  Mrs. Murray ,  Mr. Padilla ,  Ms. Warren ,  Mr. Welch ,  Mr. Wyden , and  Mr. Markey ) 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, 2025, 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 all 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 at 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 States across the United States have moved to restrict access to abortion care, and 19 States have banned some or all access to an abortion as of March 2025;
Whereas, because of State abortion bans and restrictions, scores of clinics and health care centers in already underserved areas and maternal health deserts have closed, forcing more patients to remain pregnant against their will or 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 cover the ever-increasing costs of an abortion and wraparound support;
Whereas the network of abortion funds, clinics, providers, and supporters that work to ensure access to abortion is being strained beyond capacity;
Whereas restrictions on abortion care have far-reaching consequences that deepen existing inequities and worsen health outcomes for pregnant people, people giving birth, and their families;
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 12 States completely banning access to abortion care as of March 2025;
Whereas more than 25,000,000 women of reproductive age, plus more trans and nonbinary people, do not have access to abortion where they live;
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 all staff to increased levels of harassment, violence, 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 of such 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 current administration has emboldened individuals and groups to continue to harass and threaten the ability of abortion providers and all staff to serve their patients;
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 all 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  on March 10, 2025, 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, as well as the actions of the current administration and antiabortion extremists, to limit and stigmatize 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, where everyone has full access to the care they need without fear of penalty or stigma, and affirms the commitment of Congress to working toward that goal in partnership with providers, patients, advocates, and their communities.