Yesterday, I went to the “Jane” abortion documentary and talk at the Women’s Center. I didn’t know exactly what to expect on my way there, but I figured it would be interesting because abortion is such a controversial topic in our society. It turns out that “Jane” was kind of an underground abortion service run by a group of feminist women. It started out as more of an abortion counseling service for women who were thinking about getting an abortion to get more information on what to expect physically and emotionally after the abortion. The women of “Jane” would then deliver the women getting the abortion to a doctor in an apartment building they had set up where he would perform the service. Eventually, the women found out that the doctor was indeed not a real doctor, and they began training the “Jane” women to perform the abortions on these women themselves. One of the women stated that she was doing about 20-25 abortions a day, 4 days a week.
At the time, it was very hard to find someone who would perform an abortion because they were illegal. Another issue, if a woman did find someone who would follow through on the abortion, was the price. Abortions were very expensive at an average cost of $500. Because of this, many women felt trapped if they became pregnant; until they learned of “Jane”. Once women found out about these services, “Jane’s” popularity grew rapidly. Between the years of 1968-1973 there were about 125 women working for Jane providing counseling and abortion services, and they performed over 12000 abortions for women all over.
I found this documentary to be very interesting and kind of scary at the same time. I am against abortion for the most part, so watching it was kind of difficult for me at first, especially hearing how many women had gone through these services. At the same time, I loved the dedication of the women who started “Jane” and I loved how passionate they were about helping the women who came to them for help. On the other hand, I found it very scary that these women had no medical background or education, yet they were performing these abortions that could have potentially gone very wrong and even killed women. Maybe this is because I am a nursing major and know how dangerous it really is to try something like that without experience, but the fact that they were not only doing the abortions, but also giving medication and administering shots to the women made me even more nervous.
By the end of the video, I could not decide where I stood on the topic, and still am not quite sure. On one hand, I am completely against abortions, and felt it was very stupid and dangerous of the “Jane” women to try something like this especially because they could have seriously hurt someone. On the other hand, I feel it was a big step for women’s rights and the passion of those women helped so many others to gain strength and courage to do great things in life. So, although I didn’t agree with much of the video, I am glad I did go to see it and can say that I truly did enjoy it and recommend it to all of you.
At the time, it was very hard to find someone who would perform an abortion because they were illegal. Another issue, if a woman did find someone who would follow through on the abortion, was the price. Abortions were very expensive at an average cost of $500. Because of this, many women felt trapped if they became pregnant; until they learned of “Jane”. Once women found out about these services, “Jane’s” popularity grew rapidly. Between the years of 1968-1973 there were about 125 women working for Jane providing counseling and abortion services, and they performed over 12000 abortions for women all over.
I found this documentary to be very interesting and kind of scary at the same time. I am against abortion for the most part, so watching it was kind of difficult for me at first, especially hearing how many women had gone through these services. At the same time, I loved the dedication of the women who started “Jane” and I loved how passionate they were about helping the women who came to them for help. On the other hand, I found it very scary that these women had no medical background or education, yet they were performing these abortions that could have potentially gone very wrong and even killed women. Maybe this is because I am a nursing major and know how dangerous it really is to try something like that without experience, but the fact that they were not only doing the abortions, but also giving medication and administering shots to the women made me even more nervous.
By the end of the video, I could not decide where I stood on the topic, and still am not quite sure. On one hand, I am completely against abortions, and felt it was very stupid and dangerous of the “Jane” women to try something like this especially because they could have seriously hurt someone. On the other hand, I feel it was a big step for women’s rights and the passion of those women helped so many others to gain strength and courage to do great things in life. So, although I didn’t agree with much of the video, I am glad I did go to see it and can say that I truly did enjoy it and recommend it to all of you.
Thanks for the recommendation! I was familiar with Jane overall, but didn't know about the documentary. If you get a chance, you should also watch Lake of Fire. It's a great documentary, showing the abortion debate in all its shades of gray. It very objectively (in my opinion) shows different perspectives and gives the topic great compassion and respect. It is graphic at times though, so if you struggle with certain images or ideas related to abortion, just know beforehand that they're in the film.
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