Recent Impacts
The lasting impacts of this violence still persists today. Even outside of the directly affected communities, other states and cities have continued to honor those most affected by these acts of violence. In response to national push-back against abortion rights, Multnomah County, Oregon signed “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day” into effect on March 10, 2022 (the anniversary of David Gunn’s murder). The day was established to memorialize the murders and violence against abortion providers throughout the years, celebrating “the high-quality and essential health care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide" (Item 1).
Clinic Protection Laws By State
Though the FACE Act is important, not all starts have supported it with additional clinic protections. This table details which states have implemented which protections for clinics.
Persistent and increasing levels of violence in and outside of abortion clinics have forced some states to enact additional protection for clinics outside of those outlined in the FACE Act. Nearly 30 years after the FACE act, abortion clinics face new threats that are not covered in the law. Still, many states have left clinics vulnerable to these increases in violence. The chart below (Item 2) details what kinds of protections different states have, and what kinds of protections states lack. Additionally, we provide evidence of the increases in severity and incidence of abortion violence in Item 3.
1. Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. PROCLAMATION NO. 2022-016. March 10, 2022. https://multnomah.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=2456&meta_id=159587 (accessed March 29, 2023).
2. The Guttmacher Institute. "Clinic Protection Laws by State." https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/protecting-access-clinics.
3. The National Abortion Federation. "Graph of Increases in Clinic Violence in 2021." 2022.