Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Bogelbaum here. In nineteen sixty five, Heather Booth became the first Jane. Then a student at the University of Chicago, Booth helped a friend's sister find a safe abortion at a time when the practice was illegal in every state. Her work sparked a movement and a group that became known as the Jane Collective. For the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works, spoke with Rainy Horowitz, MD,
currently a resident at the Emory University Medical School. She explained that before Roe v. Wade was passed in nineteen seventy three a quote getting a safe abortion was not something that was easy or accessible. This was pre medication abortion, when only surgical abortion was available. Because those abortions had to happen illicitly, the level of care provided could vary.
Some of the practitioners were, Horowitz said, these kinds of sketchy, underground, poorly trained, just trying to make a quick buck abortionists. There were also licensed trained physicians who were doing abortions very secretly for a larger amount of money. People seeking abortions at this time or attempting to perform one themselves
were putting their lives at risk. In nineteen sixty five, as Booth began connecting more people with grassroots care, a legal abortion accounted for almost one fifth of all pregnancy and childbirth related deaths that were officially reported as such, the actual number was probably higher. Around the Chicago area, college students and other women who couldn't afford a steep fee for their safety turned to the budding Jane Collective. It was called up because Jane was a very every
woman's sort of name. The collective posted flyers and ads that read pregnant Don't want to be called Jane. Horwitz said. They would advertise in underground newspapers and by word of mouth and give you a contact number that you could call, essentially a hotline, and ask for Jane. They would counsel you about this unwanted pregnancy and give you the option of coming to obtain an abortion that was at a
much more reasonable price. Secrecy was important because this was in a pre rov Weighe time where getting an abortion was extremely illegal impunishable by the law. To ensure that secrecy and protect the privacy of everyone involved, the operation had a number of clandestine elements. Horowitz explained, they would have the patients come to a location that they called the Front, which was an apartment where they would check you in and family could wait. The patient would then
be transported to a second location. Horwitz said that really added another layer of security, because should the front get rated by police, the location where the woman was actually getting the procedure would be somewhere else. At first, the Janes acted as go betweens, connecting women with doctors who were willing to perform abortions, but soon they began receiving
training to perform the procedure themselves. Horowitz said what was unique about the jain collective is that they utilized people who were not formally medically trained and gave them training with a doctor who knew how to do abortions, like an obstetrician or gynecologist. They would teach them how to do proper sanitary abortions because it's really a pretty simple technique and can be taught to people without a formal
medical degree. That allowed the Jaines to help even more women and lower the cost of the procedure from five hundred dollars to one hundred dollars. Still, it was a risky enterprise. In nineteen seventy two, seven Janes were arrested and charged. They faced years in prison, but the charges were dropped when Roe v. Wade was decided in nineteen
seventy three, before the Janes went to trial. During the course of the collective from its official inception in nineteen sixty nine through its dissolution after Roe v. Wade, around one hundred and thirty members helped provide eleven thousand safe but illegal abortions. In many ways, things are very different
for women seeking reproductive care today. Researchers developed medication based abortion in the nineteen eighties, and in the US the Food and Drug Administration approved it in the year two thousand. Unlike these surgical or procedural options that were available in the nineteen sixties, medication abortion can be managed virtually. That is, the pills can be mailed, the patient doesn't need to
meet the prescribing health care provider in person. Over four decades of study, scientific evidence has shown medication abortion to be both effective and safe in the overwhelming majority of casees,
even self managed ones. In twenty twenty two, the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, Women's Health Organization reversed the national Roe v. Wade ruling, and abortion access is now restricted again in many states and is banned in thirteen as of February of twenty twenty six for residents of these states. Obtaining an abortion by traveling to a state where it's legally provided is not a crime, but it can be difficult and there can be legal risks.
So the Jane's work to get healthcare to every woman who needs it continues today. Horwitz said the ways that people are connecting and informing themselves about abortion now are through social media instead of the word of mouth and underground magazine route the Jaines used in the early nineteen seventies. But advocacy groups are still doing a great job at spreading the word about why this is such an issue.
If you'd like to learn more about the jain collective, a former Jane by the name of Laura Kaplan published a book about it in nineteen ninety seven called The Story of Jane, The Legendary underground Feminist Abortion Service. There's also a feature link documentary called The Janes from twenty twenty two, directed by Oscar nominated filmmakers t Lessen and Emma Pildas, and a historical drama called Call Jane from
the same year featuring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver. Horowitz said history informs and sometimes guides the present, but our past informs our future. It is definitely important for us to reflect on how things have been historically to try not to make the same mistakes as in the past. If you'd like to learn more about how to access and support legal reproductive healthcare, the websites abortionfinder dot org and repro Legalhelpline dot org both have a lot of
information and resources. Today's episode is based on the article when abortion was illegal Women turned to the Jaine Collective on how stuffworks dot com, written by Kate Morgan. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klain. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.