How far would you go for something you believe in? A network of women banded together to help others in their community seeking safe abortions in a super new and timely documentary given the current Roe V. Wade threat. HBO Documentary Films’ “The Janes” recounts their remarkable story, told from the perspectives of those who were there. Not only evading the law, these heroines also risked the wrath of the Catholic Church and an unlikely enemy in the Chicago Mob. Premiering at Sundance 2022, the story was also dramatized at the festival in the film “Call Jane,” starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver.
‘Janes’ hails from directors Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin. Pildes gets her first directing credit, previously producing documentaries including “Jane Fonda in Five Acts.” Co-director Lessin’s filmography features titles that gravitate towards political as well as social issues. As a producer, she’s been a part of major documentary projects by Michael Moore.
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The film’s official synopsis:
“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. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground network for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves “Jane.” Offering first-hand accounts from the women at the center of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time, “The Janes” tells the revelatory 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 support women with unwanted pregnancies. 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.”
A group’s mission to ensure reproductive rights makes history in “The Janes.” The documentary premieres on June 8 on HBO and will also be available on HBO Max. Watch the trailer below.