Members of the Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance (VREA) are celebrating Abortion Provider Appreciation Day by delivering care boxes to every abortion clinic in the Commonwealth. The boxes contain snacks, drinks, personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, and the book Shout Your Abortion by Amelia Bonow, Emily Nokes, and Lindy West.
“These care packages are a signal that we stand in solidarity with providers who constantly fight for everyone’s right to access essential reproductive health care. As abortion providers continue to support their patients’ decisions by treating them with compassion, dignity and respect, advocates will continue to support and hold them up,” Stephanie A. Nash, Virginia Advocacy Director at Whole Woman’s Health Alliance and project lead said about the effort. “VREA shares the deep rooted commitment to advancing reproductive freedom. Abortion is normal. Abortion is health care and abortion providers should be appreciated and respected like any other medical professional.”
“On this Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, we hope abortion providers know how important the work they do is for everyone in our community. Without abortion providers, many people in our community would not be able to choose how and when to become a parent for themselves,” Anna Scholl, Executive Director of Progress Virginia, said. “Abortion providers are critical to ensuring that everyone can access the abortion care they need when they need it, and they deserve our respect.”
“Today, PPAV celebrates and thanks the many expertly qualified doctors, midwives, nurses, health care assistants, call center staff and others who ensure that Planned Parenthood patients across Virginia have access to high-quality, nonjudgmental abortion care,” said Rae Pickett, Interim-Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “Abortion providers have faced so many challenges head on. Whether it be from anti-choice picketers outside the health centers or protecting patients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Planned Parenthood abortion providers have and will continue to provide the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion care, no matter what. We thank them today from the bottom of our hearts.”
“Abortion providers, like all workers, are deserving of a safe and secure work environment, but they are often threatened with violence and harassed by anti-abortion extremists. On Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, we want to make sure that clinic workers feel supported and that their work is appreciated. Abortion providers are an essential part of reproductive freedom and an essential part of our communities. We truly can not thank them enough,” said Ana Owens, Campaigns Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.
Background: Abortion Provider Appreciation Day has been celebrated on March 10 each year since 1996 in memory of Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider who was murdered on this day in 1993. The Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance is a statewide coalition made up of 18 different organizations who support reproductive health and equity.