The Abortion Pastels, 1998 @paularegostudio Paula Rego’s Untitled: The Abortion Pastels, made between July 1998 and February 1999, have never been more timely and relevant. This series of works features personal and quietly anguished portraits of women who have just undergone, or are undergoing, at-home, illegal abortions. Rego, who grew up in Fascist Portugal in the 1930s and ’40s before relocating to London in 1951, was motivated to create this series about her home country after a 1998 referendum to liberalize abortion in Portugal failed. She saw this as a rallying cry for change and used her art as a response and motivator. Rego’s paintings unflinchingly, mercilessly depict the pain and indifference women have historically experienced at the hands of men. Rego’s Abortion Pastels are arresting portrayals of a process that largely remains concealed and shrouded in stigma, and a moving reminder of the power of art. In this series she draws back the curtains and focuses attention on the dangers of making abortion illegal, and the need for bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, and abortion rights. “It highlights the fear and pain and danger of an illegal abortion, which is what desperate women have always resorted to. It’s very wrong to criminalise women on top of everything else. Making abortions illegal is forcing women to resort to the backstreet solution.” . . RP @ruth_e_chapman via @karynlovegrove . . . #paularego #portuguese #british #painting #drawing #pastels #poetry #activism #theabortionpastels #abortion #abortionrights #womensrights #reproductiverights #roevwade