The Janes: The Future of Abortion is the Past
by tristero
The Times has a terrific short documentary on The Jane Collective, a group of women in the late ’60’s/early ’70’s who performed some 11,000 illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade.
A doctor performed the abortions and charged high fees. But it turned out he wasn’t a doctor at all. He then taught the women in The Jane Collective to perform abortions themselves. They had no medical background and no medical training other than what the non-doctor provided.
Think about that. Think that that is your daughter. Think that that is yourself. This is where we’re headed again thanks to the Republicans who rammed Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, it’s only a matter of time before Roe v. Wade is reversed.
Please don’t get me wrong. What the Janes did was necessary. But all women, if they want/need an abortion, should have access to the safest possible procedures — drugs or, if needed, operations performed openly and without stigma or judgment by trained medical personnel. Driving abortion back underground is sheer madness, fueled by hatred of women, especially poor women.