The Jane Collective or Jane, officially known as the Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, was an underground abortion service which operated in Chicago, Illinois from 1969 to 1973.

The collective was started by a group of women in an effort to address the increasing number of unsafe abortions being performed by untrained persons that often had no medical experience at all. Since illegal abortions were not only dangerous but very expensive, the founding members of the collective believed that they could provide women with safer and more affordable access to abortions. During the years which Jane operated, the collective performed more than 11,000 abortions in Chicago. The collective disbanded after Roe v. Wade made abortion legal throughout the United States in 1973.

Organized in 1969, the Jane Collective was an effort to provide abortions, as well as abortion counseling, to any woman who was in need of their services. The collective originated with University of Chicago student Heather Booth, who helped her friend’s sister find an abortion provider.

The founders of Jane initially focused their attention on providing women access to competent physicians willing to provide abortion services. They found a physician they called “Mike” who was willing to work with them. After creating a close relationship with Mike they found out that he actually wasn’t really a physician, but the techniques he used were safe and effective.

The women of Jane then decided to cut out the middleman and perform the abortions themselves. Mike taught the women his technique, and from then on the women performed the abortions themselves. The women were taught several methods, such as the cannula method for early stage abortions, and the super coil method used in later stage abortions which caused the women to miscarry, but the most widely used was the D&C (dilation and curettage) method. The D&C method involved the opening of the cervix and the insertion of a curette that was used to scrape the walls of the uterus to extract the fetus and placenta.

The Jane Collective was a member organization and work group within the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union.

Legal issues

During the time of the Jane Collective, abortion was illegal in Illinois as well as most of the United States. Although patients could be prosecuted, primary focus was placed on prosecuting those that were performing the abortions and not those who were receiving them. Throughout the four years that Jane operated the group was raided once by the police. No patients were arrested, but seven of the women working for Jane were arrested and their documents seized. However, the passing of Roe v. Wade soon after kept the women from being convicted of any crime. After its passing their case was dismissed. 

Services

The services offered by Jane took place in two apartment homes in Chicago. The first apartment was used as a reception and waiting area. Here women were checked in, received abortion counseling, and waited to be transported for their procedures. The second apartment used by Jane was where the abortions were actually performed. Women were taken by car in groups from the first apartment to the second where the actual abortions would be performed. The reception area was often filled with children and other friends and family members of the women receiving the abortion, and Jane provided an informative yet welcoming environment for all. The women working in the reception room provided snacks for their guests as well as childcare for those women who did not have anyone to watch their children while they were having the procedure.

Patients

Patients discovered the services of Jane by word of mouth. No advertisements for their services were ever released. Abortions were performed for about $100.00 per procedure. However, most women could not afford this and were either asked to give whatever they could afford, or were given a no interest loan funded through the collective. Upon arrival, the woman in need of an abortion was assigned a counselor who would lead them through the process. Women were briefed on the procedure, as well as how to prepare for it, and what to expect when it was over. Abortion counseling for each woman was a major focus of Jane. They provided counseling before the abortions; they also sought out women who had had abortions after they had returned home, but they were not always successful.

Many women wished only to forget about that part of their life; other women were unable to be contacted at all. The patients of Jane were originally from all backgrounds and social classes, with differing opinions on abortion. As abortion became legal in other states such as New York, Jane’s more affluent clientele disappeared and the majority of the women they served were poor.

Disbanding

After the success of Roe v. Wade the Jane Collective was disbanded. Their goal of Jane had been realized. Women now had access to safe more affordable abortions. The women of the Jane Collective discontinued their services in fear of being prosecuted for performing abortions without licenses to practice medicine.

This blog is put together from Wikipedia.