St. Paul to celebrate ‘Abortion Providers Appreciation Day’

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Monday, March 09, 2020

The St. Paul City Council’s unanimous approval of a resolution to recognize March 10 as “Abortion Providers Appreciation Day” in the city has been described as “indicative of the moral decline occurring in Minnesota and across our country.”

After the City Council approved the resolution on a 7-0 vote, Sen. Mark Johnson, from R-East Grand Forks, said he was “saddened.”

“Movements like this are indicative of the moral decline occurring in Minnesota and across our country,” Johnson said, according to The Minnesota Sun. “As a father of three, I understand the sanctity of life and the joy that children bring to this world.” 

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Johnson added that instead of celebrating abortion providers and “their destructive habits,” there’s a need to “celebrate life and our local organizations who are on the front lines protecting women’s and children’s health.”

Abortion Providers Appreciation Day seeks to recognize abortion provider Dr. David Gunn, who was shot and killed on March 10, 1993, according to the resolution, which states, “To honor his memory, March 10 has since been established as a day to show appreciation for the high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide, and to celebrate their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work.”

The resolution, passed Wednesday night, says abortion is one of the “safest medical procedures in the United States,” and criticizes “recent restrictions” on abortion passed in the state.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, a Republican, responded to the resolution, saying he believes “we should protect human life from conception to natural death.”

“But why would the St. Paul City Council choose to ‘celebrate’ abortion? Some may think it’s a necessary evil, but to celebrate abortion is bizarre,” he stated.

The resolution goes on to state, “The Supreme Court of the United States now contains a majority of Justices who may not interpret the Constitution to provide protection for the right to end a pregnancy and may overturn or severely limit Roe v. Wade, which includes the threat of patients and abortion providers being arrested and sent to jail.” 

It adds that abortion providers and clinic staff “courageously provide care” despite “threats to their personal safety.”

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a crucial case about a Louisiana law requiring doctors performing abortions in standalone clinics to have “admitting privileges” at local hospitals.

Oral arguments were heard in June Medical Services v. Russo which contested the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, authored in 2014.

“Everyone is very interested to see how they rule,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, in an interview with The Christian Post, stressing that the decision should be supported across the board because the issue is not contesting the legality of abortion but whether or not abortion facilities should be held to the same standards as other ambulatory surgical centers.

The Louisiana law was reportedly created in part because of horror stories that emerged in the state where patients were treated in filthy conditions and basic standards of medical care were not upheld.