‘Very human procedure,’ student says
A “self-induced” abortion guide and a garden of “abortifacient plants” are on display at Barnard College this fall as part of dual exhibits created by students, staff, and professors.
The exhibit “Abortion in Context,” which opened last week at the New York City institution, displays posters and other materials that students created in a spring semester class of the same name, the Columbia Spectator reports.
English Professor Wendy Schor-Haim, who taught the course, said her students’ projects demonstrate how abortion involves a “constellation of issues.”
“Abortion issues are interconnected with all kinds of other issues, all kinds of other social movements, and all kinds of other injustices as well,” Schor-Haim told the Spectator.
One of the projects on display is a student’s Spanish-language “Guide for Self-Induced Abortions Using Abortion Pills,” according to the report.
Others created posters of abortion activists, including Dr. Willie Parker who describes himself as a Christian and his abortion practice as a “ministry.”
The Reproductive Justice Collective helped the class create the “educational resources,” according to the report. The student-run group advocates for abortion and “Queer and Trans” healthcare on campus.
Abortion is a “very human procedure,” and the exhibit helps people understand that, collective co-leader Sydney Johnson told the Spectator.
“It would be great for people to think about abortion as not just something that is in the law, but also something that has been around for centuries,” Johnson said.
Students also were involved with the second, related exhibit, “Trigger Planting 2.0.” It includes an indoor display of dried “abortifacient” plants as well as an outdoor garden.
Architecture Professor Kadambari Baxi worked with students, staff, gardeners, and others to create the “collaborative garden assembled with abortifacient plants, or plants that have been traditionally used by women to terminate a pregnancy,” an article on the college website states.
The college’s lead groundskeeper, horticulturist Keith Gabora, also lent his aid to the abortion exhibit, according to the article.
“This project has particular meaning as it involves a cause that is important to me,” Gabora said. “The permanent location for the garden will continue to bring this cause to light long after the project is complete — I look forward to maintaining it and using it as a teachable entity in the future.”
Historically, self-managed abortions have been considered dangerous by activists on both sides of the issue. However, according to Barnard, the exhibit challenges that.
“[It] showcases how women’s self-management of reproductive health has given way to a larger movement in medicine — one that calls on a history of self-actualized bodily autonomy through alternative and holistic medical practices,” according to the report.
The college paid for “Trigger Planting 2.0,” and both exhibits will be on display throughout the school year, according to the report.
Baxi said they plan to revise the exhibit after the November election, because several states have abortion referendums on the ballot.
MORE: Barnard College launches movie contest to ‘celebrate’ abortion
IMAGE: Barnard College
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