Vaginas, uteruses and coat hangers: Abortion advocates use tattoos to protest Roe v. Wade ruling

Abortion advocates use tattoos

Some pro-abortion supporters are expressing their stance through tattoo designs, including stylized uteruses or coat hangers.Tattoo shops and artists are holding pro-abortion themed events to benefit abortion-rights advocacy organizations. “Tattoos are a way of taking ownership over your own body and making a statement for yourself as well as for others,” one tattoo artist said.When Maiah Bennett of Eureka, California, met a female friend recently to lament last month’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and discuss how to express their frustrations through art, it wasn’t long before they decided it would be through Bennett’s tattoo pen.

On Friday, Bohemian Tattoo, the shop where Bennett works in Eureka, held a flash sale featuring 10 images the friends had designed; among them were variations on a uterus — including a fairy, a sword and multiple butterflies. In all, Bennett and another artist at the shop produced 10 pro-abortion-rights tattoos, with all proceeds — about $1,300 — going to the National Network of Abortion Funds, she said.As a tattoo artist, Bennett knows the power her designs can have — not only for personal expression but as a mains of helding for people overcoming sexual assault or facing depression.”Tattoos are a way of taking ownership over your own body and making a statement for yourself as well as others,” said Bennett, 27. “Our bodily autonomy is being stripped from us.”

The June 24 U.S. Supreme Court ruling denying a constitutional right to abortion marked the culmination of a gradual clampdown on abortion rights around the country, with roughly 26 states In response, some abortion rights supporters are turning to body art to vent their frustrations, state their positions and ease their grief over the loss of what they say should be a basic right. Meanwhile, artists like Bennett and others among the nation’s estimated 31,000 tattoo shops are joining the cause by conducting pro-abortion rights flash sales – one-day events offering themed designs at reduced rates – with proceeds benefiting abortion rights advocacy organizations. The pro-abortion designs include a pair of underwear ringed with barbed wire, hearts reading “My Body My Choice” and coat hangers with the words “Never Again.” “It’s just important to feel heard in this time,” Bennett said. “I’m hoping this will help people feel some confirmation in themselves.”