Show Love for Abortion Providers!
Over the last decade of working at Physicians for Reproductive Health, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know hundreds of abortion providers across the country who are a part of our organization’s network of advocates.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the official declaration of Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, in commemoration the life of Dr. David Gunn and the courageous work of abortion providers across the country in spite of the harassment, violence, and stigma they face.
In the eyes of community members, patients, and colleagues, abortion providers are of course extraordinary. They provide care that is stigmatized, face violence from anti-abortion extremists, and combat the overwhelming misinformation and disinformation about the care they provide.
They geek out over the latest Beyoncé album. They binge Heated Rivalry. They go to the pottery studio. They complain about the dating apps.
But what I love most about abortion providers is everything that makes them normal. They geek out over the latest Beyonce album. They binge Heated Rivalry. They get pregnant. They have miscarriages. They have babies. They go to protests in support of the safety of community members. They go to the pottery studio. They complain about the dating apps. They love their weird, perfect pets. They talk nonstop about Bad Bunny. They have great taste in memes. Abortion providers, despite the over-politicization of the care they were trained to provide, fight to seek a sense of normalcy in the midst of the pressure.
This seems a bit saccharine or simple, but these efforts are a clear playbook for what we all need to do as we face more national and international grief: stay present and live our lives in alignment with our values. The same policymakers who want to ban abortion and gender affirming care and the same people who protest outside of abortion clinics want us to be in a collective state of fear and confusion. They hope that we get burnt out, distracted, and lose our way. If we look closer at the way that abortion providers are facing the various emotional, political, mental, and physical attacks on their careers, we can learn new ways to face attacks by the same actors on our lives.
If we look closer at the way that abortion providers are facing the various emotional, political, mental, and physical attacks on their careers, we can learn new ways to face attacks on our own lives.
Abortion providers aren’t one dimensional; they live whole lives. They have families. They are invested members of their communities.
When I was in elementary school, I drew pictures of myself with a blue triangle dress and wild curly hair as an astronaut and as a tap dancer and as an equestrian vet when I dreamed up what future me looked like (all real, ask my mom). I wish I could tell little me that the way I’d spend my 20’s and 30’s was so much cooler than that, alongside countless heart-lead organizers, committed to being staying present, engaged, and committed, despite all the collective grief.
💜✨ Happy Abortion Provider Appreciation Day to everyone who makes abortion care possible.
In shared vision of something more,
Kelsey & The PRH Staff
The post Show Love for Abortion Providers! appeared first on Physicians for Reproductive Health.