Abortion

Floor Speech

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Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, let me move onto why I am here this afternoon. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are at a crisis point. Republican legislatures all across the country are continuing to pass bills that control our bodies and, at the same time, Trump Supreme Court nominees are closer than ever to overturning Roe v. Wade.

There are 26 States across the country that are likely, if not certain, to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. There is no question that these restrictions that have been enacted by States all across the country have an incredibly discriminatory impact and will disproportionately harm those who are already facing far more obstacles when it comes to accessing healthcare, including women of color, women with low incomes, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, rural women, and many more.

For over 50 years, Roe v. Wade enabled women to make the decision about whether or not they wanted to start a family. But, today, because of new abortion care restrictions, 90 percent of counties in the United States do not have an abortion provider. Women are faced with impossible decisions and, as a result, will be forced to have babies they can't afford, didn't plan for, or are unable to care for, or faced to have babies under life-threatening conditions. And, tragically, women may also die because they lack the access or resources to safely end pregnancy. Abortion bans are a matter of life and death.

Women across the country are under attack and so, too, are the healthcare professionals who provide safe and legal abortions. Today is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. This day was established to honor Dr. David Gunn, who was killed on March 10, 1993, outside his abortion clinic in Pensacola, FL, by a White supremacist, anti-abortion extremist.

Abortion providers are compassionate, credentialed, and highly trained professionals who allow women to actually make choices about their own bodies, their futures, and whether or not they want to start a family, and they do so without judgment and in the face of violence.

Tragically, Dr. Gunn's murder was just the first known instance of a murder of an abortion provider. Across the country, abortion providers experience intimidation, harassment, threats, and violence from anti- abortion extremists.

According to NARAL, between 1977 and 2015, there were over 7,200 acts of violence carried out against abortion providers by anti-choice extremists. These included 42 bombings, 185 arson attacks, and thousands of death threats, bioterrorism threats, and assaults. Every single day, even right here in DC, anti-choice extremists station outside of abortion clinics and harass staff and patients.

Fourteen States and the District of Columbia have needed to enact laws to protect abortion providers and patients, including laws that prohibit blocking the entrance to a clinic, threatening or intimidating staff, damaging property, and more. Three States have even had to go so far as to establish a ``bubble zone'' to protect people within a certain distance of a clinic. These doctors, nurses, and staff fear for their lives just to provide access to reproductive care.

Being an abortion provider is a dangerous profession in this country. What other medical profession deals with this level of harassment and violence just to provide medical services, medical care? For what other medical profession do we have to create a bubble zone of protection?

On Tuesday, I joined Senator Peters and my colleagues in the House to introduce a resolution to honor all healthcare providers who keep patients safe and healthy and do their part to help provide access to reproductive care, including abortions.

Today, on Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, I stand on the Senate floor to affirm my commitment to ensuring the personal safety of all abortion providers and clinic staff. I thank these fearless individuals for maintaining abortion access to communities across our country. A big aloha and mahalo to these courageous people.

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