The Janes

Warner Brothers Discovery | HBO

In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves "Jane."

Mixing archival footage with new interviews, The Janes tells the story of a group of unlikely outlaws. Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it, and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, the members of Jane risked their personal and professional lives to help women in need. In the pre-Roe v. Wade era –– a time when abortion was a crime in most states and even circulating information about abortion was a felony in Illinois –– the Janes provided low-cost and free abortions to an estimated 11,000 women.

You can watch the film on HBO Max.

CREDITS

Directors: Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes

Producers: Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin

Editors: Kristen Huntley

Music: Max Avery Lichtenstein

Executive Producers: Susan Lacy, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller

Director of Photography: Keith Walker

Associate Producers: Madelaine Feakins, Margaux Sax

Senior Producer: Sara Rodriguez