Whew! It's been quite a week for Planned Parenthood and women's health, and I realize we've been asking a lot of you lately. It almost feels like our work is never done, and I want you to know that your support and actions are absolutely invaluable to defending choice and making sure women's health remains a priority to our leaders.
A key component of women's health and reproductive freedom is the right to choose safe and legal abortion — a right that I, for one, am incredibly thankful to have. But this right means nothing if there's nobody to provide it. Along with the activists, the legal warriors, and all of us who vote, march, and fight to keep abortion legal, abortion providers themselves play a crucial role in protecting women's reproductive freedom.
March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. It's a time to reflect on the courage and compassion of abortion providers, as well as thank them for their service and attempt to turn what can be a hostile climate into a positive one. March 10 is also the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. David Gunn, the first abortion provider to be murdered by an anti-choice extremist. It is a stark reminder of the unique and dangerous risks abortion providers are willing to face to make sure women have a choice.
Today, the number of abortion providers is shamefully inadequate. More than 85 percent of counties in the United States lack an abortion provider. In rural areas, it's 97 percent. A world without trained abortion providers is a world where safe abortion does not exist. Please join us in honoring those in the trenches: the doctors, nurses, and various medical staff who provide abortions — the very people who make choice possible.
Leave your note of thanks and encouragement to the nation's abortion providers on our discussion board on Facebook or in the comments below, and we'll deliver them. You can also change your social networking status updates and Twitter to say "is thankful for choice and the abortion providers who make it possible: http://tinyurl.com/ch9gdf" or "is celebrating National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers: http://tinyurl.com/ch9gdf" to raise awareness of the importance of safe and legal abortion and the heroic women and men who provide it.
I am so thankful for abortion providers and the risks they take, the hardships they endure, and the harassment they face in order to allow me and all women to have reproductive freedom. Please join me in thanking them — and once again, thank YOU for all your support.
Kendall at Planned Parenthood Action Fund
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as much as i agree with margaret cho that shows on women's sexual and reproductive health need to be aired, i'm really glad that "dr." phil's show on women's health was not aired. most words out of his mouth reeks of patriarchy and his previous advice to women have been problematic. i would bedroom furniture not want him putting more harmful ideas into women's heads.