The City Council of Alexandria has removed in its docket released on Tuesday a previously-announced proclamation made by Mayor Justin Wilson to celebrate "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day" on March 10.
As per The Christian Post, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has abandoned the proclamation he made last week following strong opposition on celebrating "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day" from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Wilson confirmed in an email sent to The Daily Wire that the proclamation was indeed abandoned, as per his instruction to the city council.
"This proclamation has now been pulled from the agenda at my request," Wilson said.
Wilson made the announcement in support of President Joe Biden's plan to recognize the "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day." Wilson clarified in the email that it was "part of a national effort, timed to occur 29 years after the date of the murder of an OB-GYN in Florida, who was murdered for providing legal and safe healthcare services."
In the proclamation, Alexandria's mayor highlighted the incident involving Dr. David Gunn who was shot and killed on March 10, 1993 by a white supremacist anti-abortion extremist. Gunn's murder is the first known case of an abortion provider. This is why the "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day" was set on that day. It is a way to show appreciation to family planning clinics and their staff for the high-quality care they have provided for those who underwent abortions.
"To celebrate their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work of protecting women's reproductive rights; and to affirm that these services must be accessible for people to make real decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures," Wilson proclaimed.
Wilson also raised that such rights and accommodations provided to women for their alleged healthcare have been threatened recently such that family planning clinics were shut down in some states. This has then led to shortages, he stressed, of such abortion providers and for the remaining providers to experience harassment from state restrictions motivated by politics.
Wilson even pointed out the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the United States Supreme Court, alluding to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that is pending a decision for release this year. This, he said, is a sad fact considering that abortion providers are among the frontliners during the COVID-19 pandemic who disregarded their own safety just to prioritize the needs of their patients.
Arlington Diocese Bishop Michael Burbidge immediately condemned the proclamation through a statement as a "direct, violent attack on human life." Burbidge pointed out that it would have been better if the mayor released a proclamation that actually celebrated the efforts of those who helped mothers avoid the killing of the unborn.
"Proposing a celebration of abortion and an 'appreciation day' for those who destroy lives defies comprehension. The City of Alexandria should instead do the opposite. It should celebrate all those who save, protect and care for human life. It should re-direct its focus toward recognizing and supporting both mothers and their children, as so many dedicated and compassionate people in Alexandria do each day," Burbidge said.
Burbidge also urged residents to express their opposition to the proclamation by giving a list of sample statements residents can use to stand up for life. This was a matter that a local parish--the St. Mary's Basilica--took to heart by uploading in their website the bishop's statements along with a link that allowed residents to contact the mayor regarding the matter.
The parish's website highlighted the need for residents to express their strong opposition to the proclamation prior to the city council's meeting on March 8. The link also included a form that highlighted opposition to violence, which abortion brings on the lives of mothers and their unborn.
Many top conservatives also condemned the proclamation such as former Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy Editor-In-Chief Josh Craddock who found it "disgusting." Craddock raised that abortionists dismember the unborn after poisoning them. He underscored that to celebrate such an inhuman offensive act--a homicide--is to celebrate the murder of children.
While former White House Strategic Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp took to Twitter to praise God that the proclamation was removed by the mayor in the city's docket. Schlapp said this is the result of speaking against the radical agenda of the Left even at the local levels, whose importance she underscored.
