The counselor would call them back and arrange a face-to-face meeting, where the counselor would explain the abortion procedure step by step and ask about medical history. From then on, abortions through Jane would go something like this: a woman would call "Big Jane," who would take down their information and give it to a counselor.
Through persistent cajoling and bullying, a member of Jane got an apprenticeship with an abortionist, and trained until she was able to do the procedures herself. They narrowed down their referrals to a few doctors in-state, then used doctors in NY (where abortion was partially legalized in 1970) for those who could afford the trip. They allowed other women to join them, they split into specialized roles (although everyone rotated), and they continued to expand their services. As word about Jane grew and they kept getting calls, the group became more organized. A loose collection of women referred desperate women to abortionists that had better reputations than most: less likely to require sex or to accidentally kill you. Jane started in the 60s as a referral service. Eventually, determined to reclaim women's reproductive power in any way they were able, many members of Jane learned to perform abortions themselves.Īn extraordinary history by one of Jane's members, The Story of Jane is an urgent account of the organization's development, the conflicts within the group, and the impact its work had on both the women it helped and the members themselves.Ī study of the Chicago abortion underground in the 1960s and 70s, written by an actual member of Jane. As Jane grew, so did the group's capacity to protect its clients. Organized in 1969 and active until the opening of the first legal abortion clinics in 1973, Jane initially counseled women and referred them to abortion providers who set prices and conditions. The Story of Jane recounts the evolution of the Abortion Counseling Service, code name Jane, the underground group of heroic women that provided low-cost abortion services in Chicago in the years before the procedure was legalized. Also the subject of the acclaimed HBO documentary The Janes.A compelling testament to a woman's most essential freedom-control over her own body-and to the power of women helping women. The powerful story of the women who founded and ran the legendary Chicago reproductive rights organization Abortion Counseling Service, otherwise known as Jane, written by one of its members.
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