Lewis-Clark State College cited violations of the No Public Funds for Abortions Act passed last year.

Rhea Nayyar
Mar 7, 2023

An exhibition at the Lewis-Clark State College’s Center for Arts and History in Lewiston, Idaho, became a hotbed of controversy after six abortion-related artworks were removed mid-install. The school cited the No Public Funds for Abortions Act passed last year as the reason for removing works by Katrina Majkut, who curated the show; Lydia Nobles; and Michelle Hartney. The three artists are currently in communication with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which have presented the school with a joint letter calling for the decision to be reconsidered.

The exhibition, titled Unconditional Care: Listening to People’s Health Needs, showcases work about people living with chronic illnesses, disabilities, pregnancy, assault, and gun violence. Three documentary films and one audio piece from Nobles’s As I Sit Waiting series that highlights lived experiences with abortion, Majkut’s embroidery piece depicting prescription abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol, and Hartney’s transcription of a 1920s letter from an unwell mother to Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger begging for accessible reproductive healthcare were removed leading up to the exhibition’s opening on March 3.

Continued: https://hyperallergic.com/806454/abortion-related-artworks-removed-from-idaho-college-exhibition/