Today is the annual National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

March 10th marks the anniversary of the day in 1993 when Dr. David Gunn was murdered by an anti-choice extremist. Since then, seven more providers have been killed and the day has become a time to honor all those people who take huge personal risks to make our reproductive rights a reality. In an age when being an abortion provider is harder than ever, due to always increasing anti-choice regulations, ongoing harassment and intimidation campaigns, and the stigma around the procedure–in the medical community and in the culture at large–thanking them is the least we can do.

So send an appreciation postcard through the 1 in 3 Campaign. And head over to ThinkProgress to hear from eight abortion providers about the challenges they face and what motivates their work. As one of them explains, “We’re just trying to take care of our patients.”

Maya Dusenbery is feeling very grateful to the doctor who performed her abortion.