Today is Abortion Providers Appreciation Day! And here at AAFront we take this holiday VERY seriously. After all, we’re kinda obsessed with abortion providers, they’re our heroes. I mean, we’re not SAYING we freaked out when we saw Kwajelyn Jackson at SCOTUS last week… and we’re not saying that we treated Amy Hagstrom-Miller like a frickin’ movie star when we saw her… but we’re not not saying that!
But while we support participating in the full love fest that is Abortion Providers Appreciation Day, we also see it as a day of remembrance for Dr. David Gunn. He was shot and killed by an anti-abortion extremist on March 10, 1993. His son wrote a letter to the parole board when Gunn’s murderer was up for parole. You can read the story of Dr. David Gunn and his legacy here. Violence towards clinics and providers has increased with recent years as anti-abortion rhetoric has become more and more mainstream. Clinics have seen an increase in stalking, vandalism, online harassment, burglary, and trespassing.
And still, even with all these threats, providers still go to work every day, caring for patients, worrying about patients. They walk through sidewalk screamers telling them they are “baby killers” and they still provide compassionate care. They’re frickin’ SUPERHEROES Y’ALL!
Some of the best times we’ve had were going to clinics on tour, seeing people around the country dedicated to abortion access! We’ve gardened, we’ve built a fence, we’ve assembled chairs, we’ve brought cookies and sheet masks and hot tubs and bouncy houses. We’ve done community building. And you know what, you can too! Now, look, don’t just GO to a clinic with food and be like “THIS IS FOR YOU!” They get a lot of haters, remember!!!
But definitely volunteer! And if you wanna do something big (I mean, bouncy house) you can write to us here (Anna@aafront.org) and we’ll help you organize with your local clinic!
Also, send #thankbank postcards! Because abortion providers deserve love each and every day!
