On March 10, 1993, Dr. David Gunn was murdered by an anti-abortion extremist. Three years later, to honor his life and his work, the 10^th of March became National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. It is not only a day to recognize the importance of allowing people to control their own reproductive lives but it’s also a day to say thank you to all abortion care providers who fight to keep the abortion option available. 

Every day, we are thankful and honored that abortion care providers all over the country put their lives at risk to provide comprehensive health care. Abortion care providers are faced with threats of violence against them and their families, aggressive legislative limitations, and emotional harassment. These are just a few of the intimidation tactics that are used to deter clinicians from providing full-spectrum, patient-centered health care. We at RHAP are fortunate to work with caring, dedicated, and passionate providers located all over the country. Thank you to all the physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, staff, volunteers, doulas, and advocates who ensure access to safe, compassionate abortion care in independent clinics and in the primary care setting.

As we celebrate and share our appreciation for abortion providers today and every day, here are some things you can do to show up for abortion access:

• Share your thanks and appreciation on social media using #CelebrateAbortionProviders
• Make a donation to RHAP to help us to continue provide primary care clinicians with training, equipment, and supplies so they can provide abortion care in their communities
• We are also collecting your thoughts of gratitude to send to abortion providers in the US. We invite you to use this form to share your messages with us – Tell us why you appreciate abortion providers. We’ll then digitally share your messages to abortion providers and share your stories anonymously on social media. Your kind words will provide encouragement during these very difficult times!