Sky Fast-Tracks The Janes

An HBO documentary about seven women involved in a ’70s underground abortion service will stream on Neon and Sky Go from Saturday.

Reads the blurb for The Janes, which offers first-hand accounts from the women at the centre of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time:

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’.

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.

It streamed earlier this month on HBO Max, when  Decider called it “an inspiring call to arms as history is poised to repeat itself”.

“Frighteningly timely and powerfully persuasive, The Janes offers a unique opportunity to look back at a pivotal chapter in American history through the eyes of those who helped define it,” said Rotten Tomatoes, where the movie averaged a 100% rating based on 53 reviews.