Bicameral resolution honors abortion providers and clinic staff by designating March 10, 2025 as “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day”

Text of Resolution

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, along with Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral resolution honoring abortion providers and staff by designating March 10, 2025 as “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.” The Abortion Provider Appreciation Day resolution affirms that abortion providers are valued as they provide reproductive care despite pressures, restrictions, political interference, and threats to their personal safety. It also highlights the essential role that these providers play in providing safe access to reproductive care, including abortions. The introduction of this resolution follows a 2022 report by the National Abortion Federation, which shows a rise in major incidents like stalking and death threats directed at patients, abortion care providers, and volunteers.

“With Trump and Republicans inciting violence and harassment at abortion clinics, the dedicated work of abortion providers is all the more essential in our fight to protect and advance reproductive justice. There is no just world in which abortion care providers should have to fear for their own lives and the lives of their patients,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. “We are grateful for providers’ labor and perseverance to deliver for those seeking critical health care. I am grateful to Senator Hirono for her partnership and leadership and I am proud to reintroduce this resolution to designate “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day” to honor the commitment of abortion care providers and affirm the dignity, safety, and appreciation they so deserve.”

“As we commemorate Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, we honor the bravery of these health professionals who provide crucial care to thousands of people across the country every day,” said Senator Hirono. “I’m proud to reintroduce this resolution in recognition of these essential health care providers, who continue to help their patients even in the face of violence, threats, and intimidation. Today, we also reaffirm our commitment in the fight to protect and secure reproductive rights for all.”

“Abortion providers deliver essential, lifesaving health care to patients in need all across this country,” said Senator Peters. “Particularly since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, these medical professionals have faced threats and personal attacks but continue to make sure Americans can receive reproductive health care. I’m honored to once again lead this resolution with Senator Hirono to recognize their courage and dedication.”

The resolution was inspired by Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider who was killed outside his clinic in Pensacola, Florida by a white supremacist and anti-abortion extremist in the first known instance of the murder of an abortion provider. To honor his legacy, Abortion Provider Appreciation Day was established on March 10, 1996 as a day to show appreciation for the essential, high-quality care that abortion providers and staff provide to their communities and to celebrate their courage and dedication.

“Our father believed in and trusted his patients to make the best possible decisions regarding their families which stands in direct opposition to those in the current administration who rely upon fear, hatred, coercion, guilt, and the power of the church and state to dictate their choices, liberty, and bodily autonomy,” said David Gunn, Jr., son of Dr. David Gunn. “Therefore, on the 32nd anniversary of our father’s assassination, we reiterate and reaffirm his trust and faith in the individual, not in the state, when it comes to matters of reproductive choice and health. We stand with the provider community at large and wholeheartedly support their dedication to the proposition that individual choice, not state sanction, is the key to freedom and liberty.”

“My father’s life was brutally stolen by a violent anti-abortion extremist. His death was not just a personal loss but a tragic reminder of the dangers of hatred disguised as righteousness. I honor his memory by standing for justice, compassion, and the freedom of the right to choose that he so firmly believed in,” said Wendy Gunn, daughter of Dr. David Gunn. “These are very dark times for reproductive freedoms. It is so important that we not lose sight in how we got here and just how much harder we have to work to restore these rights for everyone who deserves autonomy over their own body.

“Our father’s death is representative of just how far these anti-abortion and hate groups will go in order to control our reproductive freedoms. On the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, Jan. 22, 1993, my father walked outside of The Beacon Women’s Clinic in Montgomery, AL with a boom box and held it high while blasting Tom Petty’s classic tune ‘I Won’t Back Down’ directly to the protesters outside that had been stalking him and harassing him for years. He was fed up and wanted them to know that he would not be silenced or work in fear. Two months later he was gunned down while going to work in Pensacola, FL. We must continue to fight with intense dedication and great fervor. And if we start to waver, remember that moment in 1993 when Dr. Gunn found his voice, and sing along as loud and as proud as you can.”

The Abortion Provider Appreciation Day Resolution demonstrates a commitment to abortion providers and staff by:

• Recognizing March 10, 2025 as “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day” to celebrate the courage of abortion providers and the high-quality care they provide to patients and families across the country;
• Lauding communities who proudly support their abortion providers and staff;
• Affirming the commitment of Congress to ensuring the safety of these health professionals, their ability to continue providing the essential reproductive care their patients need, and the right of patients to access abortion care regardless of where they live, free from violence and threats;
• Condemning the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States to limit abortion care, which had a devastating impact on abortion providers and the communities they care for, threatening their livelihoods; and
• Declaring a vision for a future liberated from all abortion restrictions and bans, and affirming the commitment of Congress to working toward this future with providers, patients, advocates, and their communities.

The Abortion Provider Appreciation Day Resolution is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America; National Women’s Law Center; National Abortion Federation; Physicians for Reproductive Health; National Network of Abortion Funds; Power to Decide; Guttmacher Institute; National Partnership for Women & Families; National Council of Jewish Women; Abortion Care Network; In Our Own Voice; and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.

“Every day, abortion providers across the country provide time-sensitive and essential health care to patients — in confidence and without judgment. They do so while navigating escalating political attacks, medical disinformation, and threats on their lives and the lives of their families,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day honors all these doctors, nurses, clinicians, counselors, and health care staffers for their commitment to caring for our communities. These heroes are protecting the lives and health of millions of people and their families, and we are deeply grateful for their expertise and compassion. Planned Parenthood will never stop fighting for abortion providers’ ability to provide care without harassment and persecution. On this Abortion Providers Appreciation Day, we thank them, we support them, and we honor them.”

“Now more than ever, we need complex models of care that center community and prioritize those at the margins. Abortion providers have always known and lived deeply into this truth. This Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, I am grateful for the co-leadership of Senators Hirono, Peters, and Congresswoman Pressley who are leading the charge to honor and reflect the authentic display of care abortion providers show up and provide their communities. In light of the Trump Administration’s disturbing commitment to attacking and villainizing people who need and provide abortion care, it is critical that we have champions in Congress shining a light on the way that abortion providers show up for patients every single day. In spite of legislative attacks, in spite of misinformation and disinformation about their jobs, in spite of navigating increased protestor activity and clinic violence, abortion providers show an unrelenting commitment to trusting people to know what they need for their lives, and they embody that trust no matter how hostile the climate,” said Physicians for Reproductive Health President & CEO Dr. Jamila Perritt.

“Every day they go to work, abortion providers – from doctors to clinic administrators, patient advocates, counselors, medical assistants, nurses, and security personnel – deliver essential, sometimes life-saving health care. Yet their work is often met with protest, harassment, and stigmatization. NAF will continue to do everything within our power to ensure providers have the resources, trainings, security support and medical guidelines they need to deliver high-quality, abortion care to their communities,” said Brittany Fonteno, President and CEO, National Abortion Federation.

“Abortion Provider Appreciation Day was originally started to counter an act of white supremacist and anti-abortion violence,” said National Network of Abortion Funds Interim Executive Director, Poonam Dreyfus-Pai. “31 years later, anti-abortion extremists are still doing everything they can to roll back our rights and access. Abortion funds show up every day to ensure people can access abortion in the face of relentless attacks, barriers, violence, and stigma. They work closely with the abortion providers in their community. We must unequivocally support and celebrate everyone who provides abortion care, today and every day. From providers to abortion funds, thank you to everyone who makes abortion access a reality.”

“Nearly three years after the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion, attacks on reproductive health care continue to escalate nationwide. Under the Trump administration, anti-abortion extremists are more emboldened than ever. Yet, despite relentless harassment, threats, and even violence, abortion providers and clinic staff courageously continue to provide essential care,” said Jackii Wang, senior legislative analyst at the National Women’s Law Center. “Today, we honor their resilience, unwavering dedication, and bravery — including the courage of Dr. David Gunn, who dedicated his life to this mission. The National Women’s Law Center proudly supports those on the frontlines who are fighting every day to ensure people can access the care they need.”

In addition to Representative Pressley, the resolution is cosponsored in the House by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07), and Nikema Williams (D-GA-05).

In addition to Senators Hirono and Peters, the resolution is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

A copy of the resolution can be found here.

In her time serving in Congress, Rep. Pressley has fought persistently to protect and advance reproductive justice and ensure fundamental life-saving reproductive health care for all.

• On the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Rep. Pressley introduced the Abortion Justice Act, sweeping, intersectional legislation to address access to abortion care and put forth a comprehensive vision of a just America where abortion care is readily available—without stigma, shame or systemic barriers—for all who seek it, regardless of zip code, immigration status, income, or background.
• Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere. 
• Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of the EACH Act, bold legislation to repeal the Hyde Amendment and help guarantee abortion coverage—regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance.
• On March 5, 2025, Rep. Pressley and the Reproductive Freedom Caucus issued a statement condemning Donald Trump’s plans to drop the U.S. government’s case against Idaho’s violation of Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protections for emergency abortion care.
• In January 2025, Rep. Pressley gave an impassioned speech condemning H.R. 21, Republicans’ cruel anti-abortion bill that criminalizes providers and denies families care.
• In January 2025, Rep. Pressley was announced as Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus for the 119^th Congress.
• In October 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on Josseli Barnica, who died on Sept. 3, 2021 after being denied emergency abortion care in Texas as she suffered a miscarriage.
• In September 2024, in a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Hearing, Rep. Pressley highlighted the harmful and deadly impact of abortion bans in America to date, and outlined in detail the shameful circumstances under which Amber Nicole Thurman died after being denied necessary abortion care in Georgia.
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on a Louisiana bill that would classify medication abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. 
• In April 2024, at a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley played “Fact or Fiction” with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to emphasize the safety and efficacy of medication abortion drug mifepristone.
• Shortly before the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rep. Pressley led a group of her Black women colleagues in writing to President Biden urging him to declare a public health emergency amid the unprecedented threats to abortion rights nationwide. 
• Rep. Pressley condemned the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade., and implored the Senate to protect abortion rights and slammed the white supremacist roots of anti-abortion efforts.
• In August 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Fifth Circuit Court decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
• In July 2023, Rep. Pressley, alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation to help people with disabilities—who face discrimination and extra barriers when seeking care—get better access to reproductive health care and the informed care they need to control their own reproductive lives.
• In July 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter birth control.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote to recommend the approval of the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference applauding the decision and urging the FDA to approval over-the-counter birth control without delay.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ami Bera, MD (CA-06) and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), reintroduced their bicameral Affordability is Access Act to ensure that once the FDA determines an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Texas court ruling on mifepristone, and discussed the Texas case in a recent floor speech in which she affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care and access to mifepristone as essential. She later joined Governor Maura Healey, Senator Elizabth Warren (D-MA), and local leaders in announcing action to protect Mifepristone in Massachusetts.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Schakowsky, Lee, DeGette, Torres and Strickland, reintroduced the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act harmful and discriminatory Helms Amendment and expand abortion access globally.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Hirono led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral congressional resolution honoring abortion providers and clinic staff. 
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley delivered a speech in which she discussed the pending court case in Texas, which aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire nation. In her remarks, Rep. Pressley affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care, and accessibility to the abortion pill mifepristone as essential.
• In September 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing to examine the threat posed by abortion bans and underscored the urgency of the Senate passing the Women’s Health Protection Act. 
• In April 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive health care decisions without interference from politicians. She re-Introduced the legislation In January 2023.
• Rep. Pressley has led calls in Congress for the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, and applauded the FDA’s action in January 2023 to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication pills.
• As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley led the fight to repeal the Hyde Amendments from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July 2020 published a Medium post on the importance of doing so. She applauded the removal of the Hyde Amendment in President Biden’s FY2022 budget.
• In May 2020, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.
• In August 2021, Rep. Pressley, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, and Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee led more than 70 of their House Democratic colleagues in introducing a resolution in support of equitable, science-based policies governing access to medication abortion care. 
• In January 2023, Rep. Pressley introduced a resolution to condemn all forms of political violence in the U.S., regardless of its target or intent. That same day, she delivered a powerful speech on the House floor slamming Republicans’ harmful, misleading anti-abortion resolution.
• In September 2022, Rep. Pressley hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester for a convening on their work to address the Black maternal health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care in states across the nation following the harmful U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. 
• In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade.
• In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription. 
• In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley championed a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and reinstate insurance coverage for abortion services.

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