New HBO Documentary Looks at Important Underground Abortion Service

Jane operated before Roe v. Wade in violation of the law and in defiance of organized crime

HBO recently released an important documentary that tells the story of an underground abortion service that operated out of Chicago prior to Roe v. Wade. 

The Janes, which was produced by Emma Pildes, Jessica Levin and Daniel Arcana, covers a topic that is as timely as it gets with the impending decision from the Supreme Court that is expected to overturn the landmark judgment that established a constitutional right to an abortion. 

The movie starts by depicting what life was like for women needing abortions before 1973. They had to go through organized crime. The quality of care largely depended on how much a woman was willing to pay to get one performed. As many abortionists didn’t have medical training, it led to countless hospitalizations where emergency room staff had to treat perforated uteruses and digestive tracts. 

The Jane Collective started in defiance of organized crime, the male-driven antiwar movement and law enforcement. Abortion became the central issue of feminism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But other issues that were a focus for women were also discussed within the movie, including the sexual harassment of secretaries who walked down the streets of Chicago after work. 

One fascinating part is an interview with a man who was part of Jane. His account of that time contrasted with many of the women who felt he was a blowhard. It’s an important case study of how men should and shouldn’t behave within feminist and abortion rights circles. 

The Janes have been documented before in previous films, books and articles. Laura Kaplan, one of the members of the group, published The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service. Another documentary about the group was released in 1996. And it will get fictional treatment in a forthcoming movie Call Jane, starring Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks. 

I spoke to two members of the group for my forthcoming book while I was on a research trip to Chicago last summer. What I left with was an impression of how courageous some of these women were in helping others through difficult times–with the willingness to go to jail for their beliefs and actions. As the HBO documentary shows, there was a connection between the civil rights movement and the emergence of the second wave of feminism. 

The drive for racial and gender equality is still intertwined. I am currently en route to Mississippi to attend an abortion rights rally scheduled for June 17, which is the day the Supreme Court will release its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Part of the journalism will focus on how the lack of abortion access disproportionately affects poor women of color.