From left, Kalley Yanta and Tom Wooden of Holy Family in St. Louis Park join others gathered outside Planned Parenthood in St. Paul March 10 to pray for an end to abortion during 40 Days for Life Twin Cities’ Lenten campaign. Elected officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul declared March 10 Abortion Providers Appreciation Day.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda said he was “profoundly saddened” that elected officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis declared March 10 Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.

“Given that each human life is created in the image and likeness of God and has value, to honor those who purposefully end such life is an affront not only to our Creator but to the foundational values of civil society,” he said in a March 10 statement. “There is no way around it — abortion kills children.”

He continued: “What gives me hope, however, are the countless women and men of goodwill who tirelessly give of themselves to accompany women in crisis pregnancies, love and assist moms and babies, and work to create a culture of life in our communities and in our world. It is those people we should be honoring.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared March 10 that Minneapolis was joining St. Paul in officially recognizing the day as Abortion Providers Appreciation Day. “The professionals who ensure women can access safe reproductive healthcare do so despite threats of violence & the persistent push to undermine Roe v. Wade. That’s why today is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day in Minneapolis,” he tweeted.

On March 4, the seven-member St. Paul City Council unanimously passed a resolution to recognize Abortion Providers Appreciation Day in St. Paul. The day, which has been commemorated annually by abortion-rights activists as the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers since 1996, marks the March 10, 1993, murder of Dr. David Gunn, who was shot and killed in Pensacola, Florida, because he provided abortions.

The resolution states that the day honors Gunn “and the many other abortion providers and clinic staff face who support women’s patients’ reproductive choices.”

In a March 9 email, the archdiocese’s Office of Marriage, Family and Life urged Catholics to contact the St. Paul City Council members to express disdain for the decision. It also highlighted the related efforts of three pro-life organizations: Twin Cities-based Pro-Life Action Ministries and Human Life Alliance, and Students for Life of America, which is based in Virginia.

Students for Life of America is collecting signatures for a petition calling for the cancelation of Abortion Provider Appreciation Day in the future and is expected to deliver it to council members at their March 11 meeting.

The day falls in the midst of 40 Days for Life Twin Cities, an annual Lenten prayer campaign for an end to abortion, held this year Feb. 26-April 5. Catholics were among those who gathered outside Planned Parenthood in St. Paul to pray and draw attention to the pro-life cause March 10.