Local exhibit and visiting scholar address the ‘Worth of a Woman’

By Reader Staff

To mark the one-year anniversary of the loss of reproductive health care offerings at Bonner General Health, The Pro-Voice Project is unveiling a multimedia exhibit titled Worth of a Woman, as well as a presentation from Montana State University Professor Jennifer Hill and series of discussion over multiple days broadcast on 88.5 FM KRFY Panhandle Community Radio.

On Friday, May 10 at the East Bonner County Library Sandpoint Branch, Hill will present “Caring for Women, Caring for Communities,” which focuses on her research documenting the hidden history of childbirth and reproduction in the West through the early 1900s. 

An associate teaching professor at Montana State with a Ph.D. in American Studies, Hill is also author of Birthing the West: Mothers and Midwives in the Rockies and Plains. She will diagram the impacts of reproductive care for communities, acknowledge the significance of women throughout the lifecycle, and address health care access issues historically and into the present.

Hill’s talk will begin at 5 p.m.

The physical Worth of a Woman display will be available at Bluebird Bakery, 329 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint, starting on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, and will remain up for a month before moving to other venues around town.

The exhibit includes personal stories from women who gave birth at Bonner General Health, as well as perspectives and statistics related to maternal mortality, legal barriers to care, the undervaluing of reproductive health and more. The exhibit also offers QR codes directing viewers to worthofawomanidaho.com, where they can take deeper dives on the topics presented and continue the conversation. 

Worth of a Woman is designed to elevate the conversation around reproductive health care in Bonner County and beyond, examining the connections between women’s health and community health, the barriers that stand in the way of women accessing care, how the care system is currently failing and how conditions might be improved. 

“The goal is to bring a historically difficult conversation into the public sphere to address a real-time problem, destigmatize its discussion and envision a better future collaboratively,” organizers stated in a news release. 

“There’s so much stigma attached to discussion of women’s bodies, their functions and their needs, that we tend to ignore the issue altogether. However, with our current loss of obstetrical and gynecological services here, we need to be talking about this issue more than ever, or we’re never going to restore reproductive health care in Bonner County,” Pro-Voice founder Jen Jackson Quintano stated. 

“The things we’re not talking about, we’re not fighting for,” she added. “This is something worth fighting for, so let’s start the conversation.”

Those conversations will continue on KRFY, with a series of programs that began May 7 and will air at 8 a.m. each Tuesday on May 14 and May 21, addressing different aspects of the exhibit. 

Hosts will also discuss the importance of reproductive health care availability with special guests, including scholars, legislators and community members.

The episodes will be archived on krfy.org/podcast and worthofawomanidaho.com.

In June, The Pro-Voice Project will partner with the Idaho Humanities Council to bring a three-part, facilitated community conversation series to Sandpoint, addressing the topics of “The Worth of a Woman,” “Health Care in Idaho” and “Legislative Impacts on Idaho Women.” 

Those conversations will take place at the East Bonner County Library on Thursday, June 13; Monday, June 24; and Thursday, July 11, all at 5 p.m. 

Each conversation will be informed by the physical Worth of a Woman exhibit.

For questions or more info, contact The Pro-Voice Project at [email protected].