THE JANES

In 1968, a group of young Chicago women formed an underground coalition known as the Jane Collective. Living in a world that had barely advanced in its female reproductive reform efforts, let alone considered the option of safe and legal access to abortions, these women took it upon themselves to help the thousands of others in the United States who were left lost and desperate for help. Years away from the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade, abortion was not yet considered to be a medical practice, but a crime; even the discussion of performing an abortion was deemed “a conspiracy to commit a felony.” Yet, they found it to be worth the risk if it meant that they could provide aid to women with nowhere else to go.

The Janes started an organization for women, by women. They created the alias of ‘Jane’ as a way to be reached by other women, advertising anonymously and under the radar of the Chicago Mafia and the Chicago Police Department through ads in the underground newspaper and tear-off flyers on public bulletin boards. From contraceptives and reproductive health, to job positions and income disparities, a woman’s life was dependent on whether she had a husband or children, and the legislatures that men had bound her to, as a result. They lived in a man’s world, and having been affected by these inequities themselves, the Jane Collective chose to provide what they had never been able to receive — a choice. Jody Howard, one of the group’s co-founders, had never seen abortion as a political issue until it affected her personally; she had been a young mother of two and unexpectedly pregant with her third, when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A legal in-hospital abortion took ten days of waiting and dozens of letters being passed around from doctor to doctor. The Janes developed an organization that would not only perform safe and affordable abortions in a trusted environment, but provide counseling before and after each appointment, with no inquiry for reasonings, all while maintaining extreme discretion through alternating locations.

Between 1968 to 1973, they were able to provide an estimated 11,000 safe, affordable, illegal abortions to women across Chicago.

Whether it be in the home, at the workplace, in relationships, on the Internet, or in society overall — women have always been held to different standards than men. Expected to kneel at the patriarchy’s pedestal for far too long, people who did not fit the blueprint of a white, cisgender man were considered to be second-class citizens and treated as such; women being a group to fall into this category. Especially women of color. Being held at the intersection of both gender and racial biases, stereotypes and bigotry fester and aim to hinder the success that these women strive for. The concepts of virginity and purity have also loomed over us throughout history. Placing unnecessary importance on these aspects of a woman’s sexuality, and bolstering backlash when the standards are not met, shows how this male obsession with a woman’s virtue hasn’t faded. Despite societal progression in terms of contraception and education on sexual health, we continue to be governed by deeply ingrained double-standards that place women at a perpetual disadvantage. Forget the wage-gap — working late instead of staying home? She’s a bad mother. 30 and single? She’s run-through and a problem. Even today as women ascend to high places in the professional world, their accomplishments are simultaneously met with both praise and reprisal. And as we have seen more recently, when there’s freedom found in the autonomy of making one’s own choices, it is removed and governed by those who should have no say on the matter.

With every step forward, there comes a step back. But with it, as seen in “The Janes,” there’s also a motivation to strike a change. SOFIA RAMOS

Models Justin Docal, Cora Gilbert Photography Natasha Badal, Katalina Enriquez, Ian Alvarez Ward Design Erin Hu