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Recognizing March 10, 2020 as Abortion Providers Appreciation Day in Saint Paul, to honor the memory of Dr. David Gunn and the many other abortion providers and clinic staff face who support women's patients' reproductive choices.
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WHEREAS, on March 10, 1993, Dr. David Gunn was shot and killed by a white supremacist anti-abortion extremist, in the first known instance of the murder of an abortion provider; and
WHEREAS, to honor his memory, March 10 has since been established as a day to show appreciation for the high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide, and to celebrate their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work; and
WHEREAS, the decision about whether and when to become a parent is one of the most important life decisions a person can make, and abortion providers must be accessible in order for people to make real decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures; and
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, compassion, and respect; and
WHEREAS, abortion is one of the safest medical procedures in the United States, and experts at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine published a study in 2018 confirming that scientific evidence consistently indicates that legal abortions in the U.S., including those performed by advanced practice clinicians and those performed in the second trimester, are extremely safe; and
WHEREAS, the report also reinforced the well-documented reality that recent restrictions in some states have forced many abortion clinics to shut down, such that ninety percent of counties in the United States today do not have an abortion provider, while the Abortion Care Network found that the number of independent abortion clinics in the United States has declined by a third since 2012 and that the recent gutting of the Title X program has further threatened access to abortion referrals and abortion care; and
WHEREAS, this shortage 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; and
WHEREAS, the National Abortion Federation’s 2018 statistics on violence and disruption found an alarming escalation in incidences of obstruction, vandalism, and trespassing at abortion clinics; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States now contains a majority of Justices who may not interpret the Constitution to provide protection for the right to end a pregnancy and may overturn or severely limit Roe v. Wade, which includes the threat of women patients and abortion providers being arrested and sent to jail; and
WHEREAS, abortion providers and clinic staff courageously provide care in the face of these restrictions, political interference, and threats to their personal safety; and
WHEREAS, abortion providers and the clinic staff who support them and their patients are an essential and valued part of Saint Paul’s health care, providing quality, compassionate, and necessary health care to both community members and those who travel here for care; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Saint Paul City Council recognizes March 10, 2020, as Abortion Providers Appreciation Day to honor Dr. Gunn’s memory, to combat the stigma that many abortion providers and clinic staff face, and to celebrate the courage, compassion, and high-quality care they provide.