Crosscut Now
Jan. 24, 2023 - Remembering the pre Roe v. Wade Janes
1/24/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Remembering a group of women who facilitated 11,000 illegal abortions.
Remembering a group of women who facilitated 11,000 illegal abortions.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS
Crosscut Now
Jan. 24, 2023 - Remembering the pre Roe v. Wade Janes
1/24/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Remembering a group of women who facilitated 11,000 illegal abortions.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(tense tonal music) - I'm Jay Martin, Jr. in the Crosscut KCTS 9 Newsroom.
As a member of Jane, Northwest activist Judith Arcana aided and abetted abortion before Roe versus Wade.
Jane, the activist group that provided clandestine abortions in Chicago in the years before Roe, helped 11,000 patients during their years of operation.
In May of 1972, Arcana and several other Janes were arrested, jailed, and charged with homicide and conspiracy to commit abortion.
Each faced up to 110 years in prison.
Even after the bust, Jane continued to provide abortions and found a lawyer who filed repeated motions in the effort to delay the group's trial.
When abortion was legalized in January of 1973, the charges were dropped and the Janes ended soon after.
Arcana returned to a long career as an educator, writer, and activist, and has lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past 28 years.
I'm Jay Martin, Jr. Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on Crosscut.com.
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