The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney,  has a very successful exhibition called
'Taking precautions: the story of contraception', which looks at the
history, politics and technology of birth control.  After an 18 month season
at the Powerhouse the exhibition is now on a two-year tour of Australia.

Several sections of the exhibition include artefacts related to abortion as
a method of birth control: in ancient times; in other cultures; in the
recent past in Australia; as a current option for women; and in developing
countries as an element of their population programs.

There is also a section of the exhibition that expands specifically on the
subject of abortion and the issues surrounding it. This section is called
'The universal solution'. Exhibits include examples of patent 'women's
medicines' from earlier this century; devices for bringing on an abortion,
such as laminaria sticks, knitting needles, crochet hooks; a surgical kit
belonging to a well-known abortionist, who practised in Sydney before
abortion was legalised; modern equipment donated by a Sydney abortion
clinic; placards that were used in a political rally in Sydney in the 1980s
(they were salvaged by a far-sighted member of the museum's staff from where
they were hanging on the fence of Parliament House); a 'Stop Abortion'
placard of the kind held up by a pro-life group at their regular prayer
meetings outside abortion clinics (the group did not approve of the concept
of the exhibition as a whole, but nevertheless graciously donated the
placard as well as some of their literature); and photographs taken at a
political march in Sydney in the 1970s.

When it was at the Powerhouse the exhibition had a letter box where visitors
could post comments. The section on abortion elicited a high proportion of
the comments, which varied across the spectrum of attitudes to abortion.

The exhibition does not have a catalogue as such, but there is a 12-page
illustrated colour booklet that covers the content of the exhibition. It can
be purchased from the Powerhouse for $4.00 (Australian) plus postage.

Megan Hicks was the curator of the exhibition. She is currently working on
an exhibition about surgery,  and another major project on public health in
Australia. However she may be able to field some enquiries about 'Taking
precautions' on [log in to unmask]

In a few weeks time there will be lots of information about 'Taking
precautions' on the Powerhouse website at www.phm.gov.au.


From: owner-museum-l
To: MUSEUM-L
Subject: Re: exhibition on abortion
Date: Thursday, 15 January 1998 10:59AM

KAREN GROEN wrote:
>
> At the Women's Museum in Denmark we are planning an exhibition on the
> subject abortion. For this we would like to exhibit things people use to
> show their opinion on the subject. This could as an example be the two
> small feet, pro-life activists wear. If you know of any pro-life or
> pro-choice "accessorie shops/sales/stores" it would be of great help.
> Maybe there is something on the internet?  I would also like to hear
> about any interesting litterature and catalogues from exhibitions about
> abortion or related subjects. Thank you very much for your help.
> Please answer directly to my e-mail adress [log in to unmask]
> Karen Groen, The Women's Museum in Denmark
>
> --
> ----------------------
> Karen Groen
> DENMARK
> [log in to unmask]


I agree that this topic may be too dicey for an American museum. You may
want to contact National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action league
in Washington DC. They have a web site at www.naral.com. Another, more
obvious source is planned parenthood. They also have offices in
Washington, but I don't know their address.

Tori Cranner
[log in to unmask]