Never Again Coat Hanger

Red text on a white background with a black coat hanger layered on top of the text

In 1973, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) was created to stop the anti-abortion movement growing in the United States. Once Ronald Reagan became president in 1980—a man staunchly against abortion rights—more anti-abortion movements began to mobilize, such as the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). By 1982, Pennsylvania passed the Abortion Control Act, a law that made seeking an abortion very difficult; women were required to give informed consent, give spousal notification of their want of an abortion, and were subjected to mandatory waiting periods.

In 1986, the National Organization for Women (NOW) organized a major Women’s Rights march in Washington, DC: the East Coast/West Coast March for Women’s Equality/Women’s Lives demonstration, where over 120,000 people protested the threat to abortion rights. During these political rallies, buttons were distributed and worn, many of which bore the slogan “Never Again!” and included pictures of coat hangers. Such protest buttons pushed for Women’s Rights and the right to have a legal abortion safely; so-called “coat-hanger” abortions, done in secret by non-professionals, were extremely dangerous and caused harm to mother and child.