Join the Hanger Project

The Hanger Project is a a new grassroots effort started by youth activists to prevent Congress from further restricting women’s access to safe abortion services through health care reform. We still have time to stop this bad language from being included in the final health care reform bill.  Sign the petition to send legislators a clear message that we can't go back to an era of back-alley abortions.

In 1976, Congress prohibited federal funding for abortion services by passing the Hyde Amendment. Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to go one step further by attaching the Stupak/Pitts Amendment to the House health care reform bill. If enacted, the Amendment would further restrict access to abortion for most women and especially for middle and low income women.

Health care reform must not come at the cost of women’s health. Making abortion more expensive—refusing to cover abortion as a legal medical procedure—will not make abortion go away. It will only make abortion more dangerous as thousands of women will once again be forced to seek back alley abortions or to self-induce by dangerous means.

It is unfortunate, but the hanger has become a symbol of the pro-choice movement, reminding us of the horrors women endure when abortion access is restricted. Around the world and here in the U.S., women in need have used wire hangers, knitting needles and other sharp objects to induce abortion when access to safe, affordable services is unavailable. For these women, the results have often been catastrophic—perforations of the uterus, sterility, and even death.





Here’s what we know about women and abortion:

• According to the 2009 Current Population Survey, 12 million women ages 18-45 are classified as uninsured.
• One in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime.
• Currently, 87 percent of health care insurance plans cover abortions.

Get Involved

Join the Hanger Project and keep Congress from further endangering women’s lives in the name of health care reform! Here’s what to do.

1. Grab as many wire hangers as you can get.
2. Download and cut out the Hanger Project tags. (JPG available here)
3. Attach a tag to each hanger.
4. Put up as many wire hangers as you can around your campus and in your community.
5. Consider creating a guerilla art installation using the hangers to raise awareness and lead people to www.JoinTheHangerProject.org.
6. Post photos of your efforts to our photostream on Flickr.

Whether you’re planning an installation or putting up coat hangers to raise awareness in your dorm, send in your pictures – and check back to see what others are doing around the country!

What is the Stupak Amendment?

On November 7, 2009 the U.S. House of Representatives passed its final health care reform bill – including an amendment by Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) that would roll back the clock on reproductive rights in America by greatly restricting access to abortion services.

Currently, the Hyde Amendment, enacted in 1976, prevents federal funding from being used to cover abortions except in the case of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

The Stupak Amendment goes even further.

The Stupak Amendment would prevent women who receive federal subsidies for health insurance from purchasing plans that cover abortion. It would also explicitly ban abortion coverage from the government-run plan, or "public option." It would also effectively bar private insurers from selling plans on the national health insurance exchange that cover abortion. Some contend it could even impact plans outside of the exchange, given the level of government involvement in the restructured health care system.