Judith Arcana Helped Facilitate Abortions Pre-Roe--Here's What She Learned

[Nevilledog]

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/judith-arcana-abortion-roe-underground-jane-dobbs/

May 3, 1972. It was a spring day in Chicago and 29-year-old Judith Arcana was behind the wheel. She was driving patients who had sought abortion care from an underground abortion service that operated in Chicago by a group of women known simply as Janes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. If you found yourself pregnant—and you didn’t want to be—you could “call Jane,” and Jane would help you get the care you need. The Janes performed nearly 11,000 abortions during their tenure, without incident. But Arcana was a criminal. A felon. And she recognized it. But she didn’t care.

She had picked up several women from “The Front” (which was where the Janes provided counseling to the pregnant people who used their service) and was driving them to “The Place” (the location where other Janes would perform the procedure), which was constantly moving to evade law enforcement.

By the end of that day, she and six other Janes would find themselves in prison, ultimately facing 110 years in prison for conspiracy to commit abortion.

That’s 110 years each.

But still she didn’t waiver.

Arcana’s is a tale of bravery and of solidarity. Of refusing to leave her fellow Janes behind, even as her privilege and special circumstances led her to be the first Jane released from prison in the early morning of May 4, 1972—but only after she asked the other six if it was OK.

“GO!” they told her.

*snip*

[niyad]

1. Thank you for sharing this this. Looks like we are going back to that.

[Raine1967]

2. I watched the HBO Doc 'The Janes' the other night.

There was so much that I didn't know about these incredible brave women.

Highly recommend it to those that can watch it. The trailer doesn't begin to cover what they did to provide such important services.

[samnsara]

3. before roe it was always known that when someone spoke of a' D and C and E'...what it was.

My sisters first (of four) hubbys Father was a doc in our town and was a respected advocate for womens healthcare

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. One of the most important things a person can do is think about what their line is.

How far are you willing to go? How far will your community go to help you and protect you, and vice versa? Do you even have a community? What is it based on?

To me, this was the key excerpt:

Ultimately this next fight is going to be about community. It’s going to be about who you trust and who trusts you. And how far you’re willing to go to protect someone who may need an abortion. It’s worth noting that not everyone can be a Judith Arcana. Not everyone can be a Jody Howard or a Heather Booth, the two women who co-founded the service. But everyone can play a role in this fight just as integral as Arcana’s was to the fight in 1972. But whatever role you decide to play, you’re of no help to anyone if you don’t play smart.

So many people come to work like this wanting to be the main character, which is a great way to burn out at best and put others in danger at worst. It's about service, not clout.

[Solly Mack]

5. Very true.

Be a cog for the good but be a smart cog.

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R