5 Reasons We Stand with Providers on Abortion Provider Appreciation Day — And Every Day

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, conservative politicians and anti-abortion activists have increased their efforts to intimidate and silence providers and close clinics. Hundreds of new laws limiting or eliminating access to abortion have been proposed over the past three years, many of them actively targeting providers. For example:

• A Texas law bans all abortions (except to save the life of the mother) and increases the penalties for performing an abortion up to life in prison.

• A grand jury in Louisiana, which has banned abortion, brought criminal charges against a New York doctor for sending abortion pills to a patient there. 

• At least 11 states criminalize medical providers who perform an abortion, with punishments ranging from fines to life in prison.

• Abortion bans in 14 states have already left those states without a single clinic!

The threat of legal action has put enormous pressure on providers. And it’s taking a toll. Over the past three years, at least 76 independent clinics have been forced to close or stop offering services. And legal traps designed to snare and punish providers have put many doctors in the brutally unfair position of having to wait until a patient’s life is at risk before providing needed care to ensure they aren’t at legal risk.

Providers and patients should never have to live in fear of doing their jobs or receiving care.

For decades, abortion clinics in the US and Canada have been plagued by violence against providers, patients, staff, and others. In the last 50 years, there have been a reported:

• 11 murders

• 26 attempted murders 

• 531 assaults

• 42 bombings 

• 200 arsons

And it’s getting worse. In 2022, the year Roe v. Wade was overturned, there was a sharp increase in violence and crime against providers and clinics. According to the National Abortion Federation, reports of stalking rose 229%, arson increased by 100%, and clinic invasions climbed 25% nationally.

Despite all the threats, and all the stress, heroic providers continue to go to work and provide care for their patients and communities.

In addition to legal threats, there is a long history of intimidation against abortion care providers dating back to the mid-1800s, when the majority of abortions were still performed by midwives—over 50% of them women of color. Around the Civil War, white doctors seeking to establish themselves as the authority on reproductive care began publicly tarnishing the reputations of midwives. They falsely claimed midwives practiced methods that were unsanitary and immoral. Thousands of midwives were forced out of medical care.

Laws criminalizing abortion providers continue to make it harder for everyone to access reproductive care—especially Black communities and other communities of color who already struggled for access, even under Roe.

Due to systemic racism in health care and society as a whole, people of color routinely experience worse healthcare and have greater maternal health risks. Black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy than white women, and are more likely to seek an abortion. Threatening people of color’s right to reproductive care through legal and physical intimidation is white supremacy in action. And it has to stop.

Now, some good news. Even though a well-funded movement is working hard to intimidate abortion care providers and close clinics, a growing movement is fighting just as hard to protect them.

At the ballot box, on the streets, and in courtrooms, the movement to preserve bodily autonomy is fighting back to protect abortion care providers and reproductive justice. Yes, some within the new administration have laid out plans that include attacks on medication abortion and access to birth control—and even a nationwide abortion ban. But let's not forget that 85% of Americans believe abortion should be legal.

Meanwhile, providers continue preserving access to reproductive care—especially for historically marginalized communities. Many clinics have expanded telehealth services or even gone fully virtual to better serve their patients. Others are offering care later in pregnancy to help patients with barriers to access, such as cost or travel.

We honor the abortion care providers past and present who are fighting for our reproductive freedom. Join us and the Abortion Care Network in supporting abortion care providers today and every day.