Author: Joseph Ellis

The coat hanger is a striking and powerful symbol often used in pro-choice abortion protests. It has been used in protests surrounding the issue of abortions since the 1960s (4). One of its early uses was a protest in Washington D.C. in 1969 where more than 300,000 protesters wore wire coat hangers around their necks. They also held signs with the words “never again”. Protests since then have often recalled this one, and have used the same symbols and words.

Coat hangers were featured in the protests leading up to the Roe v. Wade decision, and they’ve been used many times since then. There were coat hanger signs present both before and after the outcome of the Dobbs decision in 2022 as well. The reason they have been used so often and so widely is that this symbol recalls the days before Roe v. Wade when some women would terminate pregnancy using wire coat hangers. These women were desperate for various reasons, and often they had no other choice but to do it themselves. Abortion was illegal, so they did what they felt they had to do outside of the law. Such a practice is dangerous because of risk of infection and bleeding (4). The memory of these experiences is what gives the sign its power today, and some people fear that banning abortion will bring us back to that time period.

This symbol has been used in many different kinds of protest; not simply the traditional picket sign. A TikTok user named Katarina Nowack started a trend of sending coat hangers as “gifts” to the Supreme Court in May 2022 to make a statement after a draft of the court’s opinion was leaked. The draft showed it was likely that the court would overturn Roe v. Wade (6). Ultimately, the protest has not been well-remembered, so it serves mainly to reference to the memory of pre-Roe v. Wade America.

However, this image of the coat Hanger is contested even within the pro-choice movement. This contestation speaks to the way history and memory are made. There are competing visions about the usefulness of the coat hanger as a symbol. Some see it as a way of pressing the seriousness of the issue and destroying the illusion that abortion can ever truly be stopped. The reasoning goes that if safe legal abortions are not available some desperate women will opt for what they see as the only option no matter what. Others do not agree. Their argument is that we have left the era of hanger abortions behind, and it is not the method women will opt for if abortions are banned, especially given that abortion pills are now available. They think that because the coat hanger is no longer going to be the reality that using the symbol just serves to stir up the traumatic memories of those who either experienced or have family members who have experience this painful past. The argument is that they should be allowed to forget, and the coat hanger’s critics see the opportunity to replace this provocative symbol with signs that have educational value. For example, this signage might be replaced with signs featuring abortion pills to help educate people about them. The contestation is over the usability and function of those signs, and the outcome of this contestation will likely affect the way we remember abortion and Roe v. Wade.

It might be countered that coat hanger abortions are not a thing of the past. In 2015 a woman allegedly attempted just such an abortion (7). A study also done in 2015 found that between 100,000 and 240,000 Texans have attempted DIY abortions. The most common method used was a drug called Misoprostol which is considered safe and effective for the purpose (2). People who do not know about the drug might opt for riskier DIY methods, hence the activist calls to educate people about them. Nonetheless, a safe and effective drug does not have the shock value of a wire coat hanger, and those who view protests as more effective if they gain more attention have good reason to continue to use the symbol of the coat hanger.

The entire debate surrounding this image underscores a few key ideas about memory. Depending on whether or not activists find the memory useful it will continue to be remembered or it will finally be forgotten. What we are seeing now is the process by which future memories are made. Whatever comes out of this negotiation will be partial, as it will likely overlook or draw more attention to either of the two methods of self abortion. In any case, what we remember in the future will be on the basis of one of these two material objects. Protest signs and stunts are only effective insofar as they can be applied to peoples lives or communicate things about those lives. Whether we like it or not, this symbol is powerful because it invokes trauma, a trauma that many want to forget. We cannot predict what the outcome will be; collective memory is, as a general rule, unpredictable.

-Joseph Ellis

Bibliography:

[1] Baez, Christina, These Photos Show How Abortion Protests Have Evolved Since 1973 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christina_baez/photos-roe-v-wade-demonstrations-1973

[2] Khazan, Olga, Texas Women Are Inducing Their Own Abortions https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/11/texas-self-abort/416229/

[3] Logan, Nick, The wire coat hanger symbolizes a dark era of abortion rights. Advocates say it’s time to retire it https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-abortion-coat-hanger-1.6508897

[4] Morrison, Patt, The coat hanger, symbol of dangerous, pre-Roe abortions, is back https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2014-mar-25-la-ol-the-coat-hanger-symbol-of-dangerous-preroe-abortions-is-back-20140324-story.html

[5] Rosen, Rebecca J., Consider the Coat Hanger https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/consider-the-coat-hanger/261413/

[6] Sung, Morgan, TikTokers are sending hangers to the Supreme Court. Abortion rights activists say that goes too far. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/viral/people-are-sending-coat-hangers-supreme-court-tiktok-abortion-protest-rcna27195

[7] Taylor, Alan, Photos: Protests Against the Overturning of Roe https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2022/06/photos-protests-against-overturning-roe/661399/

[8] Valenti, Jessica, Abortion by wire coat hanger is not a thing of the past in America https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/15/wire-coat-hanger-abortion-stories-united-states