What did the Jane Collective do for US women’s rights?

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What did the Jane Collective do for US women's rights?
Thanks for asking. There's been a lot of discussion of Roe vs Wade this year, with the US Supreme Court controversial overturning the decision nearly half a century after it was made.
Henceforth, each American state is free to decide whether abortion is legal or not, to the despair of many women's rights supporters. But if we go back to 1960s America, abortion was illegal pretty much everywhere, and treated as equivalent to homicide, from a legal perspective at least. In many places, birth control was also prohibited for unmarried women. Things were gradually changing, with some states reforming their anti-abortion laws. But a group of women known as the Jane Collective weren't waiting around for that to happen. They took matters into their own hands, literally. Who were these women, and how did the group start out? In 1965, Heather Booth was a student at the University of Chicago. She was already involved in political activism, regularly attending civil rights demos, and raising awareness about sexism on campus. But few would have predicted what a figurehead she would go on to become. She managed to help the sister of a friend get an abortion after she had been raped, convincing a male doctor to perform the procedure, despite it being punishable by up to 110 years in prison.
Word of mouth spread and other women started contacting Booth to arrange for their own abortions. She used Jane as a pseudonym, and eventually recruited other women to join her. Other prominent members included Ruth Sergel and Jodie Parsons. Were they the only ones performing illegal abortions? Not at all, quite the contrary in fact. Writing for the Goodmaker Institute in 2003, Rachel Benson-Gold estimated that up to 1.2 million illegal abortions took place every year in 1950s and 60s America. But they were often carried out by untrained providers, and at exorbitant prices, illegal abortions accounted for 1 in 5 deaths in pregnant women. The Jane Collective first of all relied on male doctors, but grantually realized they could themselves learn how to perform abortions. That helped them reduce their fee from $500 to $100, according to Smithsonian Mag, which kept abortions accessible for poor women, and women of color in particular. A May 2022 article from npr.org says they carried out around 11,000 in total. Didn't the authorities clamp down on their activities? The story goes that the police intentionally turned a blind eye, despite their services being openly advertised in underground newspapers and posted around the city. But eventually in 1972, a Jane Collective apartment did end up getting raided and seven members were arrested. The charges were serious, but ended up getting dropped, largely thanks to the Roe vs Wade decision. Now half a century later, many people feel the US have taken a major step backwards. There you have it.
Now you know what the Jane Collective did for US women's rights. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you will really know for sure.
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