Abortion Stories

Initiated by Rebecca Goyette | Presented at the Brooklyn Museum

Abortion Stories USA BK is a living archive and participatory art project initiated by artist and organizer Rebecca Goyette to honor and amplify personal narratives surrounding abortion and reproductive justice. Centering the voices of women, trans, and queer people, the project reclaims storytelling as a radical act of self-determination, healing, and collective empowerment.

Launched on the first annual Roe v. Wade Day following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark ruling, this iteration of Abortion Stories was held at the Brooklyn Museum as part of “50 Years Since Roe: A Convening on Reproductive Justice.” Co-presented by Goyette, Carolina Franco, and Amber Neyenesch alongside a dynamic group of interdisciplinary artists and activists—Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, Wildcat Ebony Brown, Christen Clifford, Amy Khoshbin, and Lydia Nobles—the event forged space for vulnerability, truth-telling, and transformative dialogue.

Designed as an immersive and interactive environment, the exhibition featured sculpture, installation, and oral histories, centering the act of testimony as a powerful creative medium. Attendees were invited to contribute their own abortion stories, transforming a once-isolating experience into a shared source of strength and solidarity. Each voice added to the installation became part of an evolving collective chorus—redefining abortion narratives on individual and cultural terms.

Functioning as both a sanctuary and a site of political action, Abortion Stories USA BK bridges art and advocacy. It affirms bodily autonomy, challenges stigma, and insists that reproductive justice is not just a legal or medical issue, but a deeply human, emotional, and communal one. Coinciding with the opening of Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter: Ain’t I a Woman, the project contributed to a broader, intersectional conversation around carcerality, Black maternal health, and the historic struggle for reproductive freedom.

Through storytelling and creative witness, Abortion Stories USA BK enacts what the law has sought to erase: the undeniable power of lived experience, spoken aloud and heard.

Press

Art News: Artists and Activists Banded Together to Tell Abortion Stories at an Impassioned New York Event

Hyperallergic: Lower East Side Gallery Highlights Untold Abortion Stories