What’s joyful about abortion? How is refusing to perform abortions a “victory for terrorism”? In celebrating the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, the media are only too happy to explain.
March 10, the anniversary of abortionist Dr. David Gunn’s murder in 1993, is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. Media from The Huffington Post and Ebony to RH Reality Check and Feministing showed their “appreciation” by recognizing and interviewing abortionists. From “thanking God” to asking abortionists about the “joy” in their work, journalists did their best to advertise the event.
In a piece for Huffington Post, Harry Knox, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, remembered abortionist George Tiller, a man who “offered compassionate abortion care,” in a piece entitled “Thank God for Abortion Providers.”
Knox remembered Tiller by describing how “the American flag that draped his coffin adorns RCRC's conference room as a holy relic.”
Full of gratitude even to the end, Knox ranted, “[T]hank God for the important ministries abortion providers offer. Thank God for the compassion they show those of us seeking abortions. Thank God for the martyrs. Thank God for their courage. Thank God for abortion providers.”
For Ebony, Renee Bracey Sherman (who sits on the board of NARAL and went public with her own abortion story earlier this year) interviewed Mississippi/Alabama abortionist Willie Parker, “a soldier for choice.” March 10 “honors the sacrifices abortion providers make, putting themselves in harms [sic] way, to ensure everyone receives compassionate abortion care,” she said before introducing Parker.
During the interview, she asked questions including “What gives you the most joy in your work?” and “[H]ow does faith influence your views on reproductive justice issues?”
In response, Parker explained how “[t]he deep compassion that I had for [women] led me to conclude that if I didn’t do this for women, who would?”
Parker also credited Christianity with his career choice. “[T]he aspect of Christianity that moves me most is the notion of compassion for your fellow human being,” he said. “It’s not a matter of opinion, right or wrong. It’s a matter of a person’s dignity and humanity, and agency.”
On a roll, Sherman also interviewed Kansas abortionist Cheryl Chastine – this time for RH Reality Check – after explaining how “[a]bortion providers are the backbone of reproductive health care.”
Sherman had different questions for Chastine, who practices where George Tiller did before his murder – questions like “What would you say to medical students who want to get more involved in this work but are concerned about their personal safety?”
In her response, Chastine referred to “terror”: “If you allow fear to stop you from doing something you know is right, then that’s a victory for terrorism.”
“I provide abortions because my patients need them, as they have been needed in every time period and in every society,” she also stressed.
Citing Kansas law, which requires patients to receive information and then wait 24 hours before an abortion, Chastine said, “It’s insulting to patients’ judgment and morality to treat them as incapable of making their own decisions without state interference.”
To “raise awareness” about the issue, she recommended that a person “talk to your friends and family about abortion as a common, normal experience.”
Cosmo's Robin Marty highlighted how "5 Women Explain Why They Became Abortion Providers" on March 10 (although not explicitly for the “appreciating day”).
In a piece published on Feministing, Sarah Wallett described her experience as an abortionist in Michigan. “My intention to be a compassionate reproductive health care provider who trusts that my patients know what is best for them means that, in fact, I can’t not provide abortions,” she said.
“But mostly,” she said at another point, “I am an abortion provider because I value the lives, health, and dreams of my patients.”
Speaking of March 10, Wallett decided that while “I don’t need National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers to know the difference that I am able to make in individuals’ lives,” “it is truly uplifting to feel the love and support for my work in such a public way.”
Likewise, Planned Parenthood and NARAL took to Twitter to express their “appreciation.”
The media have always been abortion fans – and this latest event only adds to their hype.
