Women created each strand of “When We Are They Are Us” from a variety of materials to represent a woman’s fertility. These teenagers, young women, middle-aged mothers, and grandmothers offered their time, effort, and thoughts about their bodies and their choices. Crochet was chosen as the fiber technique for this piece because of its universality and way of connecting women across generations. Just as many of us know someone who has crocheted, we also know someone who has experienced a challenging choice related to their fecundity.

One in four women under the age of 45 in the United States have had an abortion. This choice is part of our world and our lives, despite the desires of some to regulate, criminalize and deny its existence. Regardless of our individual thoughts and beliefs, we must stand together to support all women with the hope that the breadth of choices will continue to exist when we are they are us.