On March 10, 1993, Dr. David Gunn was murdered outside of his Florida clinic by an anti-abortion terrorist. As a way to honor the life and work of Dr. Gunn and all of the courageous, compassionate people who provide abortion care, March 10, 1996 became the first National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.
I became an abortion provider to help people – I provide this care regardless of public opinion. People will always need abortion care to protect their own health, and the well-being of themselves and their families. This isn’t just empty rhetoric.
Doing our jobs and caring for our patients means that clinicians – doctors, advanced practice providers, nurses, medical assistants and our support staff – are under constant attack. We face threats unlike anyone else in the medical profession simply for ensuring that people who want an abortion are able to obtain one. I don’t know any cardiologists whose offices have had protesters outside for weeks at a time.
These threats have been getting worse. According to the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), anti-abortion violence escalated in 2019. Abortion providers reported a nearly double increase in death threats and threats of harm, going from 57 in 2019 to 92 in 2019. Clinics across the country have been bombed, burned down, and physically invaded by anti-abortion extremists.
Bluntly, threats and harassment of abortion clinics, patients, and providers have been tolerated for too long because of abortion stigma – that this emotional and psychological terror is somehow deserved or is simply the cost of providing abortion care. But as we have seen, violence can’t be isolated or siloed. But it can be stopped.
Public outcry against perpetrators of violence, and support for those who have experienced violence or threats is essential to improve safety. Abortion Provider Appreciation Day is not just about providers; it’s about reducing abortion stigma and reminding everyone that abortion is health care.
As a physician, I’ve seen everything when it comes to patients. Every person is different. Every pregnancy is different. Every personal situation is different. And no one owes me or anyone else an explanation of why they’re getting an abortion. No one should feel shame for having an abortion. This is health care – no one should be threatened for seeking abortion. No clinician should be protested for offering abortion care as part of our routine, safe medical practice.
This past year has been especially difficult for everyone in reproductive health care. Despite relentless challenges due to COVID-19, providers have been steadfast in providing essential abortion care. The people and communities disproportionately impacted by COVID are the same people disproportionately impacted by abortion restrictions and healthcare disparities.
And here in Colorado, we’ve seen an increase in patients due to abortion restrictions imposed in other states. We continue to be a haven for people seeking abortion care, even under the most difficult of circumstances. We should be proud that our state trusts people, not politicians, to make these decisions.
Trusting patients to know what’s right for them and providing sexual and reproductive health care – including abortion -is community, public health-oriented care. Every person should be able to get the health care they need – including abortion care – no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make. But only abortion care has been politicized so that doctors and patients alike face the possibility of violence.
We hope that Abortion Provider Appreciation Day will bring some understanding of why we care so much for our patients, why we do the work that we do, and why we believe everyone, in Colorado and across the country, should be able to access the health care they need without shame, stigma, or fear of violence.
Dr. Rebecca Cohen is a practicing ObGyn in Aurora.