Ask For Jane. . .

I got through the first of the two books I purchased from my trip to Baltimore.

Jane--Documents From Chicago's Clandestine Abortion Service 1968-1973 is a look at a pre-Roe America that may be required as that landmark decision is either overturned or eviscerated.

The book starts with the informational brochure that the Abortion Counseling Service, what Jane was actually called, put out. It gave an overview of who they were, how to prepare for the procedure, what the procedure entailed and what to do afterwards. It concluded with a critique of the social system that made Jane necessary.

The next chapter was how the group came into being. It grew out a referral service, but the women found dealing with the doctors to be an unnerving experience. "There were blindfolds, high prices, secret motel rooms and the nagging feeling that women needed to be in control over the process." Eventually a man named "Mike", who was later found not to be a physician at all, emerged as a "go-to". He taught the women the dilation and curettage procedure, those women taught other women and soon Jane was an all-women service. Not every volunteer did the actual procedure, though.

The chapter "On the Job With Jane" provided a look into Jane's day-to-day workings. It is the story of one volunteer, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy. It begins with her joining the group, and going through the orientation process. New volunteers began in the "front", an apartment that acted as the reception room, there was information, and food and drinks. The women were shuttled a few at a time from the "front" to the "place". The abortions were performed at the "place". The system worked well, until May 3, 1972.

That was the day the Chicago PD busted Jane, the women were booked, and put on trial for eleven counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion. Their lawyer settled on a strategy of delay. She would wait to see how Roe.v.Wade went. When that decision affirmed a woman's rights to their own body, the charges were dismissed and Jane, as Jeanne put it "sort of ground to a halt."

An October 1999 discussion with Judith Areana in London discussed how a little more than 25 years after Roe the pendulum had swung against women. She began with her story of how she came to Jane, and some of her experiences. She then looks at how the shift that has brought the United States to where we are now may have begun. She mentions how the Catholic and Mormon churches, possessing almost unlimited funds, can influence state legislatures. The role the media plays and even how science has shaped the debate. Finally she mentions that the backlash against women's reproductive rights may be part of the overall backlash against women's rights.

When I completed this book, I thought of how this may fit into a modern #maidez movement that looks more and more necessary. That I need to think about more.