Photo by James Pawlish / Courtesy of Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot brought an inflatable vulva to the Indiana Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, November 14, the Russian punk collective led by Nadya Tolokonnikova protested against the state’s total ban on abortion with some giant blow-up genitalia and a group of balaclava-wearing allies carrying pink smoke bombs.
The Indiana protest served as the official launch of Pussy Riot’s new reproductive rights campaign, “God Save Abortion,” created in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
“We came to Indiana because we care about the most vulnerable groups of people — womb-holders who exist in the red states,” Tolokonnikova said in a statement shared with The FADER.
“Pussy Riot has always meant to bring hope to hopeless situations — whenever I fail to see any hope, I turn to art,” the statement continued, followed by a list of demands that include the separation of church and state, legal and safe abortion access, and limiting government control on issues related to bodily autonomy.
“Resist, organize, find like-minded people,” Tolokonnikova added. “And, most importantly, vote. I know you hate the system that failed you, but it’s in your power to change it, even if it seems otherwise.”
Watch Pussy Riot protest Indiana’s abortion ban below.
