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 "Can
I speak to Jane?" by
Jessamyn and Carmen
(Editor's Note :The Chicago Metro History Fair is an annual competition
for history projects in Chicagoland. In 2002, two Chicago grade school
students from Edison Regional Gifted Center did a project on "Jane"
the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation.)
Organizing Jane
In 1968 a woman
named Heather Booth was contacted by a friend of her brothers who
desperately needed an abortion. Heather had involved in other political
stands and issues before but never before had she dealt with the matter
of abortion. At this time abortion was illegal. However, Heather managed
to find a doctor who was willing to perform abortions for women and
she referred him to her brother's friend. At this time any question
of the illegality of abortion was viewed as a medical issue. However
the more Heather thought about it the more she realized that abortion
was not a medical issue. It was a feminist issue. It was a matter
of a woman's right to have control over her own body. A few months
later another woman contacted Heather for an abortion referral. Through
word of mouth women were being referred to Heather to find abortion
help. Heather was eager to help these women and realized that something
must be done for them. However more and more women were calling a
day. She realized that if she was going to provide the appropriate
amount of help for them than she was going to have to organize a group.
She invited some women that she knew to her house and they brought
some people that they knew as well. These women were in their twenties
and thirties, many filled with a love for feminist issues and politics.
When they were all there Heather explained what was going on with
the politics of abortion and why it was so important that-it be an
option for women who, for whatever reason, felt that they needed one.
Many of the women there had illegal abortions themselves and were
in complete agreement with Heather. She explained how she had been
referring women to doctors willing to perform abortions and asked
the women that were there if they would be willing in setting up an
organization that did this.
At the next
meeting she arranged the turnout was somewhat smaller but there were
about a dozen women who were interested in being part of helping women
find abortion. They called themselves the Abortion Counseling Service
of Women's Liberation. However, they needed a code name that they
could use to talk to women about the group. They needed a name that
would not be construed as anything sinister. One woman recalls that
when someone said, "It's like we're creating a monster."
Another woman said, 'Then I like my monsters to have happy names like
Fluffy or Jane.' In the end they settled on Jane. Jane seemed like
a very average woman's name and no one in the group was called Jane.
Whenever a woman called she would ask I& Jane and whenever a member
called back for a woman she spoke as the alias name. Under the name
of Jane the group was allowed to get a telephone number and an answering
service.
The Way the Service Worked
Because they
were doing something that was illegal, the members of Jane had to
keep a very low profile. They could not advertise their service much
either. Information was mainly passed on by word of mouth. They did
publish an add in a newspaper that simply stated, 'Pregnant? Don't
went to be, call Jane. 643-3844'. This also helped to publicize their
service. Some doctors who knew of them and were sympathetic would
refer women to Jane as well.
At first there
were only a few women calling a day for Jane. The women kept track
of each woman by a card catalogue. On the card there was the women's
name, age, address, and phone number. They also wrote down the status
of her pregnancy and medical information about he such as any previous
abortions or problems. Every meeting that the women would have the
cards were passed around and a woman from the service would pick women
that they would counsel. Each woman was given a counselor that would
help her deal with any emotional problems and take them to the abortions.
One woman that they called "Big Jane" handled the phones
and would organize the cards. Women who left messages for Jane had
to be called back as well. When a member of Jane called they would
say that they were 'Jane" calling. They did have a few problems
with people answering phones and demanding who 'Jane' was. At one
time a man on the other end of the line even asked what 'Jane's' last
name was. Thinking fast the counselor said 'Jane Howe' because 'Jane
would show you how.' Therefore at that time in the telephone book
a Jane Howe was listed with Jane's number. Not many women looked for
them in the phone book though.
A counselor
would never steer a woman towards getting an abortion. While these
women were pro choice they were not pro-abortion. They were also not
allowed to question a woman's reason for receiving abortion. Some
women were anxious to talk about their situation and others wanted
not to think about it. Counselors would also make sure that a woman
was positive that she wanted an abortion. They did not want any woman
to have an abortion that she did not want. There were a few times
when terrified teens had come to Jane because of bullying by parents
or boyfriends. Many times it was plainly obvious that women really
wanted to keep their babies but felt for whatever reason that they
would not be allowed to. In these cases counselors would not perform
abortions on the women and would often spend time talking with the
women's parents if necessary to convince them to allow their daughter
to have a child.
Women would be
given the address of an apartment or a hotel room. A nurse would blindfold
them so that they could not see the doctor and then the abortion would
be performed. On other occasions women would wait on corners wearing
something that was symbolic and someone would pick them up and take
them to wherever the abortion was to be performed. Places were always
very covert and women had to be very secretive about where they were
going. The whole experience was often very frightening for women when
the service was still young and new.
Doctors
The first issue
that the women of Jane had to deal with was finding doctors who would
give women safe, illegal abortions. Most doctors who would perform
abortions would charge at least $500 and the women who came to Jane
for help did not normally have the means to round up that kind of
money. This lead to a lot of bargaining and pleading with the doctors
that Jane dealt with. The problem was that the members of Jane had
no medical experience and did not know how to pick a good doctor to
perform their abortions. Medical experts were always telling terrifying
stories about back-alley abortionists being butchers who left women
bleeding and sick. The women of Jane had experiences with rude or
inexperienced doctors. Some of the doctors that they referred women
to berated the women for getting pregnant or even harassed the women
sexually. Jane knew of a few good doctors but some women would call
Jane beck telling of awful experiences in which doctors treated them
horribly and left the feeling even worse about what they had just
done.
The problem
was that the doctors were always in control. Some of them charged
enormous amounts of money and others had conditions that many women
could not meet. The women of Jane felt that it was bad enough going
through an abortion without having to be waft on an unpleasant street
comer to be taken blindfolded to an apartment where a stranger performed
the abortion. Some doctors had women waft on street comers to be picked
up by someone to take them to the doctor. This could be strangely
conspicuous when someone saw a Latino woman in an all white neighborhood
waiting with a red carnation.
Jane came in
contact with one doctor that became their main source. His name was
Mike and he was very pleasant to the women he treated and he did not
seem inexperienced at all. The problem was that he charged $500 dollars
and to protect his identity he would not meet directly with any member
of Jane and the women who he worked on had to be blindfolded. He had
a nurse who would escort the women to him and he sent a middleman
to do the talking for him. He was willing to come down on the price
now and then as long as Jane could guarantee him more business. This
was no trouble seeing as Jane was receiving calls from ten to fifteen
women a day. There were rarely any side effects with the women he
treated and he was always friendly and warm with them as well. He
was their best bet even though Jane wanted to have more control over
the situation.
At one point
when a crazed husband burst into the hotel room where the abortion
was taking place Mike had to run for it. He called a member of Jane
to come and pick him up at a gas station. However, when he got into
her car the Jane member realized that it was the middleman that the
doctor had sent to them. This blew Nicks cover. There was no middleman.
Mike was the middleman. He still wished to maintain the secrecy that
he had before but now Jane women began pushing to let counselors go
in with their counselees, and sit with them while the abortion was
taking place. Mike resisted but eventually he allowed two or three
Jane members that he had met be present during the abortions. Jane
now realized that slowly they were taking control over the abortion
process. They still respected Mike's wish for secrecy but their ultimate
goal was to be in total control over every aspect of the abortions.
Police
Jane had to maintain
a great amount of secrecy to prevent the police from arresting them.
This was always a danger to the members in the service and many precautions
had to be taken as a result. However one thing that Jane found was
that police, like everyone else at the time, had conflicting views
on abortion. While it was illegal some police officers who were sympathetic
even sent women to Jane for abortions. At one point a police officer
even asked or him sister to be given an abortion. This was always
difficult for Jane because the women sent in for abortions could possibly
be working for the police however, the women of Jane would always
tell the woman `Now don't rat on us because if you do, you'd be telling
on a sister." The women brought in by the police were always
very earnest in their claims that they were not working to get Jane
arrested and they never had any problems with the Chicago Police department.
Jane was a group that was not in it for the money like so many other
illegal abortionists. They were in it because they wanted to help
women. They were not an organization for profit. They never hurt any
of the women they were treated. There were little or no complications
with women who received abortions and they were friendly and careful
with the women they helped. For these reasons the police had no real
grudge against them and no reason to hassle them.
One belief is
that the reason that Jane was busted at all was because the police
that were called were not the Chicago City police and therefore had
no knowledge or relationship with Jane. The woman who called the police
called her local police; the Cottage Grove district. These police
not only were not familiar with Jane and the way Jane worked but were
under a lot of pressure to stem the tide of abortionist groups. At
that time the Roe v. Wade case was being prepared and so anti-abortionist
groups were even more determined to stop all abortion services. Therefore
these police, when given evidence of an abortion service, had no choice
but to step in and stop it. Many of the women of Jane however, knew
that while the service was running the Chicago Police had knowledge
of Jane even if they didn't arrest them from the beginning.
Avoiding the Cops
Jane always
was forced to use the utmost safety in avoiding the police. If they
were to open about what they were doing the police would have no choice
but to arrest them. After all, only a select number of the police
were sympathetic and favorable to abortion. The code name Jane was
one way of maintaining the privacy that they needed. Another way that
they decided on was having two separate places for the women to go
to. After one close call with the police Jane decided that in order
to prevent the police for finding out where the abortions were taking
place was to not give the woman the address of the place of abortion.
They would give the women the address of what they called "The
Front." The front changed from time to time and the women would
be given directions to go there. From there one Jane counselor would
drive a group of women over to "The Place", where the abortions
were performed. Finding people's houses to use as fronts was always
difficult but when they did it this way the cops would not be able
to find the place as easily even if they got hold of a woman and took
the address she had been given. The place changed as well at first
but soon the women rented out their own apartment at 5120 Hyde Park
Boulevard. This apartment ensured that they would always have a place
to perform abortions. However, they preferred to move the place from
home to home because it gave them a greater sense of security. However
they used their apartment for abortions and they decorated it with
bright lively pictures and colorful friendly sheets so that the women
would feel more comfortable and relaxed than she might at a hospital.
Busted
On Wednesday
May 3rd 1972 the police arrested seven Jane women at the place along
with a whole group of other women who had been waiting to receive
abortions. They were almost finished with all the abortions for the
day and the Jane members who by this time were performing their own
abortions were eager to finish. The driver that day was taking a woman
who had finished with her abortion out when five huge men stopped
her and the woman. They were homicide detectives and they demanded
to know where the women had come from. The Jane member refused to
say anything but they interrogated the terrified woman who had received
an abortion so fiercely that she blurted out the apartment number.
The Jane members were in the middle of an abortion when the doorbell
rang. They were expecting the janitor and they were almost finished
with the abortion so they opened the door. The police came bursting
in and the woman who answered the door began shouting, Its the cops!
It's the cops!" One woman went into the room where the women
were wading and said "These are the police, you don't have to
say anything.' The woman in the bedroom quickly realized what was
happening and dressed the woman who had just received an abortion
and hid all the medical instruments. When they came out the police
were asking over and over "Where's the doctor? Where's the guy?'
they couldn't understand why there was no man who might be an abortionist
present. They were able to single out the Jane members and they interviewed
all the women waiting for abortions. Then they arrested everybody
there, about forty people in all. The Jane members still had index
cards with the information about the women that they treated with
them. The also had all of the money that they earned that day. Determined
not to let the police find either of these things, the tore up and
ate the index cards and at the Police station they flushed the money
down the toilet. The Police were a bit baffled because all of the
women arrested where middle class white women who looked nothing like
your average illegal abortionist. They also could not understand exactly
what the cost of the abortion was because all of the women treated
had paid what they could afford rather than pay one specific amount.
They did however keep all seven Jane members in Lock-up. By morning
the press had already published the story of the arrest of the Abortion
Seven.
Free the Abortion Seven
With news of
the arrest the other Jane members were determined to help out those
who had been arrested. Some of those in jail had called Jane members
explaining what was happening. At this point Jane had a lot of money.
Some of it was stored away for emergencies and others were sifting
in jars in the homes of Jane members. However there was a sudden clamoring
to get money in order to free the arrested members. One of the Jane
members arrested had a husband who was a lawyer. He came with his
partner to help them. They agreed to get that one Jane member out.
The Jane refused, she didn't want to leave the other six women, however,
they encouraged her to go for the good of the group. The lawyer working
for her played the nursing mother card with the judge. He realized
that because the Jane member was white, a lawyers wife and a nursing
mother that the judge would most likely go easy on her. True enough
the judge set a low bail and told her that she could go back to her
children. The woman of Jane was then alarmed to see the judge swivel
on two teenage girls who had been arrested and begin bellowing and
berating them. The woman who saw this commented
He screwed the teenager over and they let me go.
Which was a very interesting lesson for me. She was real small and
she was wearing cheap cloths and had a southern accent. She was a
kid and pregnant for _ sake. There's nobody there to help her and
there's me with all these lawyers, nursing mother of the year. I was
so ashamed. I hated that judge for that.
The other
six women in jail relied on the money that was being gathered by the
other Jane members. The courthouse was filled with feminists and Jane
supporters. There were a group of lawyers who had offered to help
these Jane members as well. The prosecuting attorney wanted a high
bail but when the defending attorneys cited the status and situation
of the-women and the bail than had been set for the one Jane member
already freed the judge gave in. Bail was set at 2,500 per woman.
With all the funds that had been set up to "free the abortion
seven', a Jane member had brought the money to the courthouse and
all seven women were let free.
Trial for the Seven
Although the
"Seven" as they came to be called had be released from jail
they were still going to be put on trial and realized that they had
to find themselves a lawyer. They interviewed man after man, all of
whom made the seven out to be a cause. They had no understanding of
the group and no concern for it They were sleazy and slick and the
seven soon realized that they really didn't care about Jane or the
seven the way they should. Finally they found an excellent female
lawyer who was direct and honest. She simply said "My job is
to keep you out of jail, not fight the issue of abortion." They
liked her attitude and hired her as their lawyer. She worked very
hard for them and very well. She explained to them that at the time
the Roe v. Way case was at the Supreme court and if they passed a
law legalizing abortion the seven would not have to go to jail and
the case would most likely be dismissed. This was a ray of hope for
the women in Jane. They went to trial and waded nervously. They called
up witness after witness to testify for them. However with the Roe
v. Wade case underway there was a good chance that they would not
have to deal with any more of this.
When the Roe
v. Wade decision was passed legalizing abortion there was an outburst
around the country. The women of Jane were shocked. This decision
seemed to come out of nowhere. It did not take effect immediately
in Illinois, however on March 9" the case against the seven was
dismissed and their court records ordered expunged.
Jane Undone
After the Roe
v. Wade decision of 1973 Jane began to disband. There were many women
who were not happy with the decision. They were relieved that now
abortions were accessible to women but they still felt that power
was still given more to a woman's doctor. Their ideal abortion law
was none at all. Some women still wanted to continue Jane. They knew
that hospitals would never treat women with the kindness and care
that the Jane women had. The hospital doctors would distance themselves
from the women and never go to such extents to make women comfortable
and assured during an abortion. However they could not continue Jane
as long as abortion was illegal. Then they could be accuse of stealing
business away from hospitals and find themselves in even bigger trouble,
Women still were calling Jane but the members soon realized that it
was time to put an end to Jane and move on. Jane had served its purpose.
It had provided any woman who needed an abortion for whatever price
she could afford. It was an organization for women by women. It made
women feel empowered and strong. It made women aware of the rights
that they deserved and take their future into their own hands. Despite
the fact that little was known about this group it played apart in
the fight for women's rights for abortion. It showed people that abortion
would always exist whether legal or not and that it could be done
safely. Jane advocated choice not abortion. They reasoned that no
one was pro-abortion. No one wanted abortions, Jane members merely
wanted to give women the option if they felt that they needed it.
The Jane members had one last get together as an end-of-Jane party.
They invited everyone who had ever worked with or for Jane. They invited
Mike, their former doctor, members, people who had offered their apartments
as fronts, everyone and anyone who had helped them. It was now time
to put Jane aside and continue on with their own lives. When Jane
was over many of the women moved away and found new jobs. Little was
ever known about Jane but it had an impact on many women. Jane had
provided women with safe inexpensive abortions when it was illegal.
It helped every women that came to them no matter her race or financial
situation. Jane performed over 12,000 abortions and never once was
responsible for the death of a woman. This was an amazing achievement
and was part of the movement that put enough pressure on the government
to make abortion an option available to women today.
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