The National Organization for Women of Sacramento State displayed 240 stakes mounted with hangers near the quad last week to alert passers-by to an international problem that it says may soon become a U.S. problem.

Lia Robertson, co-chairwoman of NOW of Sac State, said the display was symbolic of a graveyard and held 240 hangers to represent the number of women who die each day worldwide from illegal and unsafe abortions.

Abortion was made legal in the United States in 1973 with the decision of Roe v. Wade, but women’s groups like NOW of Sac State are skeptical that the decision will be upheld if conservative judges are elected to the Supreme Court.

“People don’t think that outlawing abortion is a possibility,” Robertson said. “It’s scary to think that it could get passed without people even realizing it, so we put up the display to raise awareness of the issue.”

She said the group wanted to show people the number of women who are dying now, and point out that if abortion is made illegal, that number will increase.

Robertson said there was some opposition to the display, but after hearing that the group was not taking a moral stance on abortion, many people took the time to listen.

Kimberly Parrish, co-chairwoman for NOW of Sac State, said, “We weren’t making a moral statement; we were making a women’s health statement.”

Parrish said she was surprised at how few women knew the relationship between hangers and abortion. Before Roe v. Wade was passed, wire hangers were the symbol for unsafe abortions because hangers were often used to conduct unsafe abortions.

Robertson said, “Some of the women in our group do not agree with abortion, but they were willing to do the display because they wanted to show that women are still dying.”

Other women’s groups, such as the Feminist Majority Foundation, have been trying to raise awareness among women about health issues facing women today.

Jessie Raeder, campus organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation, said states across the country are passing conscience clauses that allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense prescriptions if it defies their moral values, which means they can refuse to give women birth control or emergency contraceptives (morning-after pills).

Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, and Assemblyman Lloyd Levin, D-Van Nuys, are two California legislators who have introduced legislation to ensure that women have access to prescription medicine.

Robertson said it is important for women to write and e-mail their representatives so that they will know what issues are important to their constituents.

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Rebecca Adler can be reached at [email protected]