Many people can agree that the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case was one of the most influential US Supreme Court cases in our country.
But in the upcoming months, another Supreme Court case will be stirring the pot of issues regarding women’s reproductive health.
In March 2016, the Supreme Court will once again be hearing a very important abortion case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. This case will determine whether the most extreme abortion restrictions in the state of Texas are constitutional. If these laws are found to be constitutional and are allowed to stand, 5.4 million women could be left with just a handful of abortion clinics at their service.
In anticipation of the hearing, pro-choice activists from across the nation have united to develop a revolutionary yet traditional medium through which to express their opinions: stitching.
Chi Nguyen, a textile artist, will be in charge of hosting various stitch-ins to sew 5.4 million tally marks onto 10″ x 10″ swatches of cloth. Each tally mark will represent one of the 5.4 million women who will potentially be affected by the outcome of this ruling. After all of the cloth swatches are completed, Nguyen will patch the swatches together into a quilt outside of the Supreme Court on the date of the hearing, March 2. This project is fittingly entitled 5.4 Million and Counting.
“I wanted to invite the public to create a patchwork quilt to showcase unity and support [from] people across the U.S. for Texas women and abortion access,” stated Nguyen in an interview with Ms. Magazine. “Since there are two sides to the fabric, with every stitch you make, you are drawing one line for a woman in Texas on the front and drawing one line for yourself in the back.”
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