1 | 1 | | IV |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. CON. RES. 18 |
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5 | 5 | | Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2025, as ‘‘Abortion |
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6 | 6 | | Provider Appreciation Day’’. |
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7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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8 | 8 | | MARCH10, 2025 |
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9 | 9 | | Ms. P |
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10 | 10 | | RESSLEY(for herself, Ms. WILLIAMSof Georgia, Mr. GOLDMANof New |
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11 | 11 | | York, Mrs. R |
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12 | 12 | | AMIREZ, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. SWALWELL, |
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13 | 13 | | Mr. J |
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14 | 14 | | OHNSONof Georgia, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. NADLER, and Ms. NOR- |
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15 | 15 | | TON) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred |
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16 | 16 | | to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com- |
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17 | 17 | | mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by |
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18 | 18 | | the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- |
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19 | 19 | | in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
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20 | 20 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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21 | 21 | | Expressing support for the recognition of March 10, 2025, |
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22 | 22 | | as ‘‘Abortion Provider Appreciation Day’’. |
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23 | 23 | | Whereas March 10 has been established as a day to show ap- |
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24 | 24 | | preciation for the essential, high-quality care that abor- |
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25 | 25 | | tion providers and all staff provide to their communities |
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26 | 26 | | and those traveling to their communities, and to celebrate |
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27 | 27 | | their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work; |
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28 | 28 | | Whereas March 10 was selected for ‘‘Abortion Provider Ap- |
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29 | 29 | | preciation Day’’ in honor of Dr. David Gunn, who was |
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30 | 30 | | killed on March 10, 1993, outside his abortion clinic in |
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31 | 31 | | Pensacola, Florida, by a White supremacist and anti- |
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33 | 33 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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34 | 34 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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35 | 35 | | abortion extremist in the first known instance of the |
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36 | 36 | | murder of an abortion provider; |
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37 | 37 | | Whereas abortions are provided in-person and through tele- |
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38 | 38 | | health by facilities such as independent clinics, Planned |
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39 | 39 | | Parenthood health care centers, hospitals, and private of- |
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40 | 40 | | fices of doctors, and all of the staff working at those fa- |
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41 | 41 | | cilities are essential to ensuring patients receive needed |
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42 | 42 | | care; |
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43 | 43 | | Whereas, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the |
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44 | 44 | | United States erroneously overturned Roe v. Wade, 410 |
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45 | 45 | | U.S. 113 (1973), in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health |
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46 | 46 | | Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) (referred to in this |
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47 | 47 | | preamble as ‘‘the Dobbs decision’’), reversing decades of |
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48 | 48 | | legal precedent affirming the right to an abortion and |
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49 | 49 | | unleashing devastation on an already precarious abortion |
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50 | 50 | | access landscape; |
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51 | 51 | | Whereas States across the United States have moved to re- |
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52 | 52 | | strict access to abortion care, and 19 States have banned |
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53 | 53 | | some or all access to an abortion as of March 2025; |
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54 | 54 | | Whereas, because of State abortion bans and restrictions, |
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55 | 55 | | scores of clinics and health care centers in already under- |
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56 | 56 | | served areas and maternal health deserts have closed, |
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57 | 57 | | forcing more patients to remain pregnant against their |
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58 | 58 | | will or to travel out-of-State for abortion care, increasing |
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59 | 59 | | wait times, straining already thin resources, and pushing |
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60 | 60 | | people farther and farther away from their homes; |
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61 | 61 | | Whereas abortion providers and all staff play a critical role |
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62 | 62 | | in a world where it has become increasingly difficult for |
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63 | 63 | | individuals to receive essential and time-sensitive care |
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64 | 64 | | once those individuals have made decisions that are right |
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65 | 65 | | for their bodies, lives, and futures; |
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66 | 66 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Mar 11, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC18.IH HC18 |
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67 | 67 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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68 | 68 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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69 | 69 | | Whereas abortion providers and all staff help to ensure that |
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70 | 70 | | all individuals who can become pregnant can make their |
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71 | 71 | | own decisions about their bodies and their pregnancies, |
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72 | 72 | | and support the decisions of their patients by treating |
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73 | 73 | | them with dignity, empathy, compassion, and respect, de- |
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74 | 74 | | spite numerous challenges due to abortion bans and re- |
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75 | 75 | | strictions; |
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76 | 76 | | Whereas abortion providers and all staff play an essential |
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77 | 77 | | role within the reproductive justice framework, which was |
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78 | 78 | | created by 12 Black women in 1994, who formulated a |
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79 | 79 | | human rights framework that demands every person has |
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80 | 80 | | the human right to bodily autonomy, which includes the |
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81 | 81 | | right to choose if, when, and how to have children and |
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82 | 82 | | the right to parent children in safe and sustainable com- |
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83 | 83 | | munities; |
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84 | 84 | | Whereas individuals seeking abortion care across the United |
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85 | 85 | | States also rely on the work of abortion funds and prac- |
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86 | 86 | | tical support organizations to access abortion care for |
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87 | 87 | | themselves and their families; |
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88 | 88 | | Whereas abortion funds and practical support organizations |
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89 | 89 | | that rely on donations face increasing demand following |
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90 | 90 | | the Dobbs decision as individuals are forced to travel |
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91 | 91 | | longer distances, find childcare or lodging, and raise |
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92 | 92 | | money to cover the ever-increasing costs of an abortion |
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93 | 93 | | and wraparound support; |
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94 | 94 | | Whereas the network of abortion funds, clinics, providers, |
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95 | 95 | | and supporters that work to ensure access to abortion is |
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96 | 96 | | being strained beyond capacity; |
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97 | 97 | | Whereas restrictions on abortion care have far-reaching con- |
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98 | 98 | | sequences that deepen existing inequities and worsen |
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100 | 100 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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101 | 101 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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102 | 102 | | health outcomes for pregnant people, people giving birth, |
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103 | 103 | | and their families; |
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104 | 104 | | Whereas people who are denied abortion care are more likely |
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105 | 105 | | to experience high blood pressure and other serious med- |
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106 | 106 | | ical conditions during the end of pregnancy, remain in re- |
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107 | 107 | | lationships where interpersonal violence is present, and |
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108 | 108 | | experience poverty; |
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109 | 109 | | Whereas research shows that States that have more abortion |
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110 | 110 | | restrictions are also States that have poorer maternal |
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111 | 111 | | health outcomes; |
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112 | 112 | | Whereas the effects of the Dobbs decision were immediate |
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113 | 113 | | and disastrous, with 12 States completely banning access |
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114 | 114 | | to abortion care as of March 2025; |
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115 | 115 | | Whereas more than 25,000,000 women of reproductive age, |
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116 | 116 | | plus more trans and nonbinary people, do not have access |
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117 | 117 | | to abortion where they live; |
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118 | 118 | | Whereas restricting and banning access to abortion care— |
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119 | 119 | | (1) limits the ability of current and future providers |
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120 | 120 | | to obtain necessary education and training in abortion |
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121 | 121 | | care; |
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122 | 122 | | (2) exposes the remaining abortion providers and all |
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123 | 123 | | staff to increased levels of harassment, violence, and po- |
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124 | 124 | | litically motivated restrictions; and |
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125 | 125 | | (3) creates and increases the out-of-pocket costs and |
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126 | 126 | | logistical burdens that patients face to get care to a level |
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127 | 127 | | that is sometimes insurmountable, forcing patients to re- |
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128 | 128 | | main pregnant; |
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129 | 129 | | Whereas the 2022 Violence and Disruption Report of the Na- |
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130 | 130 | | tional Abortion Federation found an alarming escalation |
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131 | 131 | | in incidents of obstruction, vandalism, and trespassing at |
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132 | 132 | | abortion clinics, with abortion providers reporting an |
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133 | 133 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Mar 11, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC18.IH HC18 |
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134 | 134 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
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135 | 135 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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136 | 136 | | alarming rate of death threats and threats of harm, and |
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137 | 137 | | documented 218 of such incidents in 2022; |
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138 | 138 | | Whereas Black, indigenous, and other providers and patients |
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139 | 139 | | of color face heightened levels of threats, harassment, |
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140 | 140 | | and violence as compared to their White counterparts; |
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141 | 141 | | Whereas the current administration has emboldened individ- |
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142 | 142 | | uals and groups to continue to harass and threaten the |
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143 | 143 | | ability of abortion providers and all staff to serve their |
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144 | 144 | | patients; |
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145 | 145 | | Whereas the Dobbs decision has emboldened antiabortion in- |
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146 | 146 | | dividuals and groups to continue to harass providers and |
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147 | 147 | | the patients they care for; |
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148 | 148 | | Whereas the Dobbs decision threatens the ability of abortion |
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149 | 149 | | providers and all staff to serve their patients; and |
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150 | 150 | | Whereas, in the face of multifaceted attacks on their work, |
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151 | 151 | | abortion providers remain an essential and valued part of |
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152 | 152 | | their communities, providing high-quality, compassionate, |
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153 | 153 | | and necessary health care, and courageously delivering |
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154 | 154 | | that care despite pressures, restrictions, political inter- |
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155 | 155 | | ference, and violent threats to their personal safety: Now, |
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156 | 156 | | therefore, be it |
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157 | 157 | | Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 |
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158 | 158 | | concurring), That Congress— 2 |
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159 | 159 | | (1) recognizes ‘‘Abortion Provider Appreciation 3 |
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160 | 160 | | Day’’ to celebrate the courage, compassion, and 4 |
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161 | 161 | | high-quality care that abortion providers and staff 5 |
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162 | 162 | | offer to patients and their families across the United 6 |
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163 | 163 | | States; 7 |
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165 | 165 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
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166 | 166 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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167 | 167 | | (2) lauds communities across the United States 1 |
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168 | 168 | | who are proud to be home to abortion providers and 2 |
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169 | 169 | | staff; 3 |
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170 | 170 | | (3) affirms the commitment of Congress to en-4 |
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171 | 171 | | suring the safety of abortion providers, the ability of 5 |
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172 | 172 | | abortion providers to continue providing the essen-6 |
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173 | 173 | | tial care their patients need, and the right of pa-7 |
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174 | 174 | | tients to access abortion care no matter where they 8 |
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175 | 175 | | live, free from fear of violence, criminalization, or 9 |
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176 | 176 | | stigma; 10 |
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177 | 177 | | (4) condemns the decisions of the Supreme 11 |
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178 | 178 | | Court of the United States, as well as the actions of 12 |
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179 | 179 | | the current administration and antiabortion extrem-13 |
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180 | 180 | | ists, to limit and stigmatize abortion care, which has 14 |
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181 | 181 | | had a devastating impact on abortion providers and 15 |
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182 | 182 | | the communities they care for, threatening the work 16 |
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183 | 183 | | and livelihoods of providers and staff, and worsening 17 |
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184 | 184 | | the strain on providers who work in States where 18 |
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185 | 185 | | abortion is still available; and 19 |
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186 | 186 | | (5) declares a vision for a future liberated from 20 |
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187 | 187 | | all abortion restrictions and bans, where everyone 21 |
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188 | 188 | | has full access to the care they need without fear of 22 |
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189 | 189 | | penalty or stigma, and affirms the commitment of 23 |
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190 | 190 | | Congress to working toward that goal in partnership 24 |
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192 | 192 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 |
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193 | 193 | | •HCON 18 IH |
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194 | 194 | | with providers, patients, advocates, and their com-1 |
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195 | 195 | | munities. 2 |
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196 | 196 | | Æ |
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197 | 197 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Mar 11, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC18.IH HC18 |
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198 | 198 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB |
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