"Jane" was the code name of a feminist abortion referral and counseling service in Chicago from 1969 to 1973. The official name of the group was the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation. Jane disbanded after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalized most first and second trimester abortions in the United States.
Underground Abortion Service
The leaders of Jane were part of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU).
Women who called seeking help spoke to a contact code named "Jane," who referred the caller to an abortion provider. Like the Underground Railroad of the previous century, the activists of Jane broke the law in order to save women's lives. Thousands of women had died from illegal, "back-alley" abortions in the United States and around the world before the procedure was legalized. Jane helped an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 women obtain abortions without fatalities.
From Referrals to Providers
At first, the Jane activists tried to find reliable doctors and arranged for callers to meet the abortionists in secret locations. Eventually, some Jane women learned to perform abortions.
As detailed in the book The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan (New York: Pantheon Books, 1995), one of Jane's goals was to give women a sense of control and knowledge in a situation that otherwise made them powerless. Jane sought to work with the women, not do something to them.
Jane also tried to protect women, who were often in difficult financial circumstances, from being exploited by abortionists who could and would charge any price they could get from a woman who was desperate for an abortion.
Counseling and Medical Procedures
The women of Jane learned the basics of performing abortions. They also induced miscarriages for certain pregnancies and brought in midwives who could assist the induced women. If women went to a hospital emergency room after inducing a miscarriage, they risked being turned over to the police.
Jane also provided counseling, health information and sex education.
The Women Jane Helped
According to Jane by Laura Kaplan, the women who sought abortion help from Jane included:
Women who came to Jane were of various classes, ages, races and ethnicities. The feminist activists of Jane said they had helped females from age 11 through age 50.
Other Groups Nationwide
There were other small abortion referral groups in cities across the United States. Women's groups and clergy were among those who created compassionate networks to help women find safe, legal access to abortion.
The story of Jane is also told in a 1996 documentary film called Jane: An Abortion Service.
Underground Abortion Service
The leaders of Jane were part of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU).
Women who called seeking help spoke to a contact code named "Jane," who referred the caller to an abortion provider. Like the Underground Railroad of the previous century, the activists of Jane broke the law in order to save women's lives. Thousands of women had died from illegal, "back-alley" abortions in the United States and around the world before the procedure was legalized. Jane helped an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 women obtain abortions without fatalities.
From Referrals to Providers
At first, the Jane activists tried to find reliable doctors and arranged for callers to meet the abortionists in secret locations. Eventually, some Jane women learned to perform abortions.
As detailed in the book The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan (New York: Pantheon Books, 1995), one of Jane's goals was to give women a sense of control and knowledge in a situation that otherwise made them powerless. Jane sought to work with the women, not do something to them.
Jane also tried to protect women, who were often in difficult financial circumstances, from being exploited by abortionists who could and would charge any price they could get from a woman who was desperate for an abortion.
Counseling and Medical Procedures
The women of Jane learned the basics of performing abortions. They also induced miscarriages for certain pregnancies and brought in midwives who could assist the induced women. If women went to a hospital emergency room after inducing a miscarriage, they risked being turned over to the police.
Jane also provided counseling, health information and sex education.
The Women Jane Helped
According to Jane by Laura Kaplan, the women who sought abortion help from Jane included:
- Women who could not care for a child
- Women who became pregnant even though they used contraception
- Women whose male partners forbade them to use contraception
- Women who thought they were no longer fertile
- Girls who did not (yet) understand how reproductive biology works
Women who came to Jane were of various classes, ages, races and ethnicities. The feminist activists of Jane said they had helped females from age 11 through age 50.
Other Groups Nationwide
There were other small abortion referral groups in cities across the United States. Women's groups and clergy were among those who created compassionate networks to help women find safe, legal access to abortion.
The story of Jane is also told in a 1996 documentary film called Jane: An Abortion Service.
