A “Reproductive Justice Garden” stocked with plants historically used to induce abortions has taken root at a taxpayer-funded state university — part of a project spreading across woke US campuses.
The lefty green space at the State University of New York-Purchase outside of the Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery first opened in 2019, and then again in 2024 after it was overrun by weeds.
Among the plants that can be fatal to fetuses are black cohosh, angelica, and wormwood.
The woke green space is divided into sections that also include a mental health garden, a menstruation garden and a pregnancy/gestation garden, according to a draft map.
SUNY Purchase is home to a “reproductive justice garden.” Instagram / Purchase Reproductive Justice Garden
The garden is a project by the art collective called “How to Perform an Abortion,” which conducts abortion-themed workshops at different colleges and venues across the US and describes itself as an art project that “demystifies the historical, biological, and ethical stories surrounding abortion,” per its website.
“That a taxpayer-supported school would allow a club to prioritize destroying future students is one more reason that many are finding so-called ‘higher education’ not worth the money,” Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America, told The Post.
“Planting poison will certainly help abusers who can stop by the garden, and who knows what it will do to animals. We definitely know that preborn babies will suffer,” she added.
In another post, the group discusses the history of the “peacock flower,” which slaves would use to induce abortions in the US and the Caribbean.
“By drinking the seeds, leaves, or flowers of the plant in tea-form, enslaved women could induce a miscarriage,” the post read.
The art collective encourages students to harvest plants from the garden — but does not expressly encourage kids to perform their own abortions.
The Purchase Reproductive Justice Garden features known abortifacients including black cohosh, angelica, wormwood, mugwort, hyssop, and wood sorrel. The garden is part of a larger collaborative art project called “How to Perform an Abortion,” which plants similar gardens and conducts abortion-themed workshops at different colleges and venues across the US to support women’s reproductive rights. Instagram / Purchase Reproductive Justice Garden
“Harvesting in 5 easy steps: 1. Grab tools from the plant box 2. Pick your plant 3. Clip it! 4. Use the provided wire to wrap a bundle 5. Put back all tools in the plant box,” the group posted to Instagram on Sept. 14, 2025.
A similar project grew at Barnard College in Morningside Heights in October through May 2025 as part of an art installation associated with the collective called “Trigger Planting 2.0”
“Trigger Planting 2.0 assembles medicinal plants, data, texts, maps, and research drawn from local, national, and international sources,” the group said at the time.
“This garden started as a student art project and is still maintained by students. Reproductive health care is protected in New York State, and this garden serves as a piece of artwork for contemplation and reflection on the past, present, and future,” SUNY Purchase spokesperson Betsy Aldredge said.
