1965 in Chicago. Heather Booth is in class when a friend calls asking for her help. He says that his sister is pregnant and not ready to be a mom. Heather Booth was able to locate a doctor who would perform illegal abortions thanks to her connections in this northern city. She did a "good deed" she never thought she'd have to repeat.
She recalled, half a century later, that the news had spread from her Washington home.
This "good deed", was the birth of an underground network called Jane, the name of which members refer to one another. Jane helps thousands of women end unwanted pregnancies in a safe and morally neutral manner, up to performing 11,000 abortions.
Seven Jane members were awaiting trial when Jane was convicted by the Supreme Court in "Roe v. Wade", which guaranteed a constitutional right for abortion on January 23, 1973. Martha Scott, one of the seven Jane members, appears defiant when she recalls that, at 80, the Supreme Court's decision "Roe v. Wade" was set to be overturned.
She explained that she did this illegal act because it was necessary because it could not be legally done. She said that they were "just neighborhood ladies" but that "bad laws force us to be a bit risky sometimes."
The two women who will be featured in an HBO documentary are haunted by bad memories from the time before Roe. Heather Booth recalls that some women who wanted to abort "swallowed sugar, others used coat hangers," as Heather Booth explains. Some others "injured their own, threw themselves down stairs or from the roof because they weren't ready" for a child.
Women are often left without legal options and turn to outlaw practitioners, who care more about the bottom line than the well-being of their patients. Heather Booth is being contacted by more women, and she must then ask for assistance to handle the increasing number of requests.
These activists request that pregnant women leave messages for Jane in order to remain anonymous. This was the birth of the network.
They discover that the doctor they used to terminate their pregnancy is not licensed. Outraged, some activists left the network. Martha Scott explains that some activists were outraged and left the network. Martha Scott explains that even a man with no medical training can perform abortions.
The police raided a network apartment in May 1972. They kept asking, "Where is the doctor?" "They kept asking 'Where is the doctor?'," 'Where is the guy who performs abortions?' Martha Scott was present in the operating room that had been transformed into a room.
Six other activists, including her, are taken into custody and held for the night. They were then released to await their trial which was canceled by the Supreme Court.
The Jane network also vanishes, having become inoperable.
Half a century later, however, their mission may be realized as the High Court, according to leaked documents, considers overturning Roe v. Wade.
Martha Scott explained that the news did not surprise her, even if it made her furious. After the three Trump-appointed judges, the octogenarian was expecting it. They were conservative in their approach to the Supreme Court.
If the decision is made, all states will be free to ban abortion. Martha Scott and Heather Booth believe that a new generation must take up the torch. Heather Booth says, "We must use all the tools that we have."
26 conservative states, mainly in the middle and south, are ready to ban abortion as soon as the Supreme Court downs the last levee. Heather Booth says that the other "islands in storm" states should not abandon their right to protect it, or even strengthen it like Illinois and California.
Drugs are now safe for abortion and can be sent to these countries by mail, even though they may be banned.
Two activists from Jane's network hope the United States won't have to go back to unsanitary abortions. Heather Booth says that abortions will not stop. She cites data showing that 1 in 4 American women will experience an abortion during her lifetime. It's not common, and it must be done safely.
