Filmmakers Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes wish their new HBO documentary, The Janes about a group of Chicago women who covertly helped thousands safely obtain abortions in the late . Marcie Bianco is a writer and editor based in California. Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg, the film documents how even conservative presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush supported abortion rights, which changed by 2018 when Republican. ARCANA: When abortion is not health care, it's felony homicide. Dem who made controversial abortion comments ditches public meeting to IE 11 is not supported. Members were able to set up a much more compassionate setting that was respectful to women, she said. CT proposal causes confusion, concern, Shelton group to host Syrian refugee family, Suspect in rape at CT housing authority property rejects offer, West Haven public housing waitlist highlights 'national crisis', Is CT recycling going into the trash? We must care with compassion, and unlike in the male-dominated medical establishment, encourage collective care and knowledge. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: For the women coming through, they were putting their trust in somebody who was breaking the law. These courageous leaders risked their personal safety and professional livesto meet secretly for six years under the guidance of Essential Partners co-founder Laura R. Chasin and mediator Susan Podziba. In 2009, one of the very few remaining providers of third-trimester abortions in the country, Dr. George Tiller, was shot to death. Enlarge this image. An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. CARL VAN NESS They say that between 1968 and 1973, they provided free or low-cost abortions to more than 11,000 women. Wade.' Drawing on a landmark FRONTLINE film from the 1980s, the documentary takes a look at both sides of the abortion divide in a community still embroiled in the conflict. How American Politics Reached This Fraught Moment: 12 Documentaries to Watch Ahead of the Midterms, How the Supreme Courts Conservative Majority Came to Be, Mass Shootings, a Supreme Court Ruling, Bipartisan Legislation: How America Reached This Moment on Guns, From the Archives: How the World's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Unfolded, Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, War Crimes Watch Ukraine: More Than 650 Documented Events, From the Archives: How the U.N. & World Failed Darfur Amid "the 21st Century's First Genocide". Try some deep breathing - very reassuring. Word spread, and by 1968 Booth realized she needed more help to continue her referral service. Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg, the film documents how even conservative presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush supported abortion rights, which changed by 2018 when Republican politicians continued to use anti-abortion as an organizing cause and voting incentive for citizens. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA BURNETT HONORS COLLEGE, RUTH JENSEN-FORBELL They just left. At the center of two separate symbolic victories for pro-choice and pro-life advocates, McCorvey makes a deathbed confession that she was paid by anti-abortion groups like Operation Rescue to speak out against abortion later in life. Members of the public gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 2022, after a leaked draft majority opinion signaled the likely end of Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of abortion law. Lie back and do as I tell you. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Photo from The New York Times, July 2, 1969. Powerful evidence of the unimaginable Clara Germani. 7 Documentaries About Abortion You Can Watch Right Now later, the body is removed and disposed of as medical waste. This Documentary About the Fight for Abortion Information and Access Is 4. 5 Essential Documentaries About Abortion to Stream Right Now - TheWrap But finding women who actually obtained abortions from the Janes was more difficult. They each were charged with eleven counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion, and each faced up to 110 years in prison. When an Abortion Story Is Told as a Caper, Thriller or Farce YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Susan Geiger For years, illegitimate authorities have been chipping away, state by state, rule by rule, impacting women's lives on the most intimate decision of our life. You need an abortion. The documentary explores how the killings ignited a fierce debate about the intersection of free speech, abortion and religion and contributed to a Massachusetts law allowing a 35-foot buffer. This documentary tells the story of a young doctor named Rebecca Gomperts. But people would be banned from using the process to change abortion laws. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE. The groups in the letter claim that overturning the constitutional right to abortion contravenes the USs international obligations as a UN member organization. Out Twin Cities Film Festival 2014 The Abortion Talks: A Documentary | Essential Partners Over the course of 16 months, beginning last July, the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth conducted a dozen hearings in Washington and several more in locations around the country, addressing a range of issues from education to housing, labor unions, small business support, infrastructure, social programs and tax policy. Lets hope it incites us to action, and not to despair. The Jane group evaded law enforcement until seven Janes were arrested in 1972. (The reason, he alludes to on camera, is that the Mafia was closing in on him.). With lower costs and more scheduling availability (they could sometimes perform up to two dozen abortions a day), women of color from the South Side and West Side of Chicago quickly became their main clients. After helping organize Black voters in Mississippi, she turned her activism to women with unwanted pregnancies. Accuracy and availability may vary. Anita Bryant "I Believe" Album Cover Authored by Justice Samuel Alito in February, the draft opinion would override 50 years of legal precedent, striking down the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that determined women have a fundamental right to an abortion, and instead would grant individual states the full authority to regulate or prohibit abortion. The centerpiece of their message: The most dangerous place for an African American child is in the womb.. DEL BARCO: Until the Supreme Court decision in 1973, abortion was a felony in the state of Illinois, as in most of the country. The documentaries below follow doctors, patients, plaintiffs and protesters through periods when politicians on both side of the aisle fought to either maintain or dismantle the Roe v. Wade verdict all these years later. Jim Himes-led committee releases documentary on disparity From left: Martha Scott, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, Abby Parisers, Sheila Smith and Madeline Schwenk. The Idaho House State Affairs Committee moved forward a bill on Friday that would make it a felony crime to transport or recruit a minor for an abortion without parental consent. used by permission and protected by the WUCF-TV is now streaming The Committee for FREE on their website! Dont want to be? American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The broadcast version also updates viewers on same-sex marriage in Florida. Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. Experts believe that the use of a law traditionally used against physical threats could change the landscape. Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, and Rep. Kevin Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, presented the . Kaplan, stopped doing them under pressure from organized crime. That is when such a situation arises. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, and local OB/GYNs spoke at the event put on by DefendDemocracy to protest against the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. None of the participants would change their minds, but the dialogues changed their lives. Roewas egregiously wrong from the start, Alito wrote in his draft, which also takes aim at the 1992 Supreme Court rulingPlanned Parenthood v. Casey. The House Oversight and Reform hearing came a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee held a similar hearing on the legal ramifications of a controversial Texas law. The Janes Review: Informative Look Back at Underground Abortion Group For information about screening the film as an individual, in a classroom setting or for your organization, please complete the following form and we'll be back in touch soon. The GOP's Abortion Strategy: Why Pro-Choice - Cambridge Core Have you watched the film on your local PBS station? With intimate access, The Abortion Divide featured interviews with women with unplanned pregnancies, doctors and nurses who provided abortions, and those who counseled women against the procedure. RICHARD HARRISON Anybody can be a catalyst for change. Access to safe and legal abortion: Urgent call for United - OHCHR Filmmakers Tia Lessin and Emma Peldes. After the election of President Donald Trump in 2016,producer Daniel Arcana started developing a project about the Jane Collective, an organization his mother, Judith Arcana, was a part of in the 1960s and 70s. They are joined by a broader coalition of groups and individual advocates for human rights and racial and economic justice. TIA LESSIN: There's audacious women who outmaneuvered the Chicago Police and the Catholic Church and the Chicago mob to help other women in need. Prior to the Roe v. Wade case, the so-called "Janes" built the underground organization and assisted an estimated 11,000 women. We'll help you. Lessin said the group treated women with care and concern leading up to and during their appointments and stayed in contact with them after their procedures, in contrast to many back-alley male doctors, the worst of whom performed abortions while drunk and sometimes sexually assaulted their patients. The film, which premieres on HBO and HBO Max tonight (June 8) at 9 p.m., tells the story of a group of women who ranand were. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Some were anti-war activists or women's lib members, some were homemakers and at least one was a nun. Jane was born first as a continuation of Booths referral service, and then as a counseling service. FRONTLINE goes inside the fight over abortion, told through the stories of women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. Levin: TV Never Shows a 'Partial-Birth Abortion,' a 'Mengele-like Any exceptions allowing abortion in very narrow circumstances for example, where an abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant persons life, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape are practically unworkable, the signatories write. Abortion restrictions, the signatories write, deny womens decisional and bodily autonomy in a way that rejects the agency, dignity and equality of people who can become pregnant.. In the aftermath of John Salvis murder spree at two Brookline clinics, leaders from opposing sides of the abortion debate met together in secret talks. Wes Moore, behind her, during a news conference in support of bills to protect access to abortion. LEARNING INSTITUTE FOR ELDERS (L.I.F.E.) And many documentary filmmakers have used their medium over the years to reflect on what led to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and what historical and political developments have led to the continued debate over a womans right to choose. Arcana was married to Pildes father, Michael, so she was familiar with the history of Jane, Pildes said. How the Supreme Courts Conservative Majority Came to Be. The leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court signaling an intention to overturn Roe v. Wade makes HBO's upcoming documentary "The Janes" extremely timely. That said, Himes is committed to shaping policy that evens the playing field. Florida Senator Charley Johns chaired the committee, and its aim was to root out communist and homosexual teachers and students from state universities. Documentary filmmaker and video producer Aaron Hos, representing the UCF Center for Distributed Learning (CDL), was brought onto the project as Producer and Supervising Editor. Students also interviewed Judith Poucher, Ph.D., who recently released her book State of Defiance: Challenging the Johns Committee's Assault on Civil Liberties. South Carolina introduces bill to punish women who have an abortion by executing them Taking the lead in the red state race to make The Handmaid's Tale a documentary, South Carolina Republicans have introduced a bill that would impose boingboing.net - Mark Frauenfelder 17h Read more on boingboing.net Abortion South Carolina Reproductive Rights Used by permission, Cover From Newsweek, June 6,1977, IBT MEDIA Detailing the decades-long abortion debate, these docs give context to the historic Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The Dobbs ruling pushed the US even further out of line with its human rights obligations, including its obligation to ensure access to abortion and to eliminate structural racism and discrimination, said Annerieke Smaak Daniel, womens rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. The constant threat of not just being arrested for getting an abortion but for even talking about one which was a felony. CHUCK WOODS JUDITH POUCHER DORRIE BARRON: I was petrified. Through contacts made at those hearings, the committee identified about 150 families whose stories they explored for the documentary. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. We tried to do it with as much respect and understanding as we could.. The film was released theatrically in New York . Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Abortions happened long before Roe v. Wade, and they will continue to happen long after its apparently imminent demise. While serving as an usher at his Wichita, Kansas, church, Dr. Tiller was killed by an anti-abortion extremist. snoopy happy dance emoji 8959 norma pl west hollywood ca 90069 8959 norma pl west hollywood ca 90069 The documentary featured the perspectives of women with unplanned pregnancies, as well as people who worked inside the clinic and members of the community who protested outside. Will they matter? The letter also includes damning examples since Roe was overturned, including the case of one patient in Wisconsin who was left to bleed at home for 10 days following a miscarriage because hospital staff feared violating the states abortion ban if they intervened to give care. MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Heather Booth was on vacation when she got the news that the Supreme Court may soon rule that abortion is once again illegal in the U.S. HEATHER BOOTH: I was horrified but not surprised. To arrange a press screener, an interview with the filmmakers, Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins, an interview with an Essential Partners expert, or an interview with participating members of THE ABORTION TALKS dialogues, please contact: Daniel Pritchard After her 1995 denouncement of Roe v. Wade, Jane Roe was seen as going to the other side. Lawmakers may have the power to legislate which actions are legal and which are not, but they cannot simply end abortions. The Committee Documentary More 33 mins 13 Jun 2018. It was updated to reflect the correct year. ET Wednesday, featuring the voices of more than a dozen former members of the group, informally known as Jane, who recount their experiences helping women get access to abortions when they were illegal. A decade after Roe v. Wade, FRONTLINE visited an abortion clinic in Pennsylvania, covering the conflict over reproductive rights like never before on American television. BOB GRAHAM And why it wasnt stopped sooner. He said he often gets asked how its possible to represent a population with such a wide range in income and wealth disparity. The Abortion Divide | FRONTLINE daniel@whatisessential.org They were unable to fathom that the women could do the work themselves. April 23 and August 27, 2019 BOISE The Idaho House State Affairs Committee passed a bill Friday making it illegal for an adult to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, with the intent to conceal it from . Suncoast Emmy Awards 2014, Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts 2012, Atlanta's Out On Film LGBT Film Festival 2014 We must help everyone no one was turned away for lack of funds. Abortion reversal laws are based on contested science but states keep passing them. FRONTLINE has been documenting the fight over abortion for several decades. New documentary warns about danger of the abortion pill And all of a sudden, they were gone. The group helped an estimated 11,000 women in Chicago get access to safe, affordable abortions in the late 1960s and early 70s. Feel free to share it around. ANDY HUSE, ARTSERVE FT. LAUDERDALE That feminist history is the subject of The Janes, an HBO documentary set to premiere on the network and begin streaming on HBO Max at 9 p.m. They felt compelled to do this even as they understood their own limitations.. Not all materials collected were included in the resulting new documentary about the Johns Committee. History of Abortion - ProCon.org Michigan House repeals 1931 abortion ban following passage of Proposal 3 The 2005 documentary traced those state laws back to how anti-abortion advocates had seized onPlanned Parenthood v. Casey the 1992 Supreme Court decision that upheldRoe v. Wade but changed the standard by which abortion laws were judged. Check your local listings for air dates and times. 5 Essential Documentaries About Abortion to Stream Right Now DEL BARCO: The Janes say their clients included wives and girlfriends of police officers. That is, until May 1972, when two women went to the police to report the collective, after attending a counseling appointment with their sister-in-law, who was seeking an abortion. The films stories of womens desperation are haunting and ominous. Three of the Janes - Heather Booth, Judith Arcana and Marie Lerner - say they hope their story inspires others. The film tells the story of a group of Chicago women who in the late 1960s and early 1970s helped pregnant people access abortions. Tel : 617-923-1216 Inspired by Depression-era photographer Walker Evans whose iconic work documented rural poverty on behalf of the Interior and Agriculture departments the committee assigned itself some creative extra credit: producing a documentary movie. You know, Netflix or HBO isnt going to distribute it, but were hoping that there will be continued interest in showing it around the country., Jim Himes-led committee releases documentary on economic disparity, Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, New Milford aids The Silo nonprofit with $107K facilities upgrade, Stratford resident stunned by earthquake destruction in Turkey, In Photos: African-based food tasting event held in New Canaan, Greenwich parking an obstacle to outdoor dining's return, Arming guidance counselors? Barbara Thorp (bottom row, left) wasdirector of the Catholic Archdiocese Pro-Life Office in Massachusetts at the time of the clinic shooting, and served on the executive boards of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, and Women Affirming Life. 9 Reproductive Rights Documentaries On Netflix You Can Stream - Bustle And in addition to offering a deeply personal window into choices the women faced in unplanned pregnancies, the film examined the steadfast belief of the anti-abortion community that there should be no choice at all. UCF History Department Seven of the women were arrested in a police raid with charges of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion in 1972, just before the historic Supreme Court decision. Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones gestures to Gov. FRONTLINEs latest documentary, "The Abortion Divide," paints a portrait of the complicated, personal issues surrounding abortion. Drawing on a landmark FRONTLINE film from the 1980s, the documentary. 'The Janes' before Roe v. Wade: HBO documentary on underground abortion The Committee recalls that unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. The documentary explores how the killings ignited a fierce debate about the intersection of free speech, abortion and religion and contributed to a Massachusetts law allowing a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics that would be struck downby the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014. Interviews were conducted with members of the Florida public school system, survivors of the Johns Committee, a retired police officer who worked with the committee, and former Florida governor and retired U.S. DAVID MORAN The Fight For Women's Bodies Contains some upsetting scenes. Essential Partners Some haulers caught, Kents progress emerges as top issue in 1st selectman race, Winter storm will bring mix of snow, sleet, rain and flooding to CT, weather service says, Amity, McMahon/Norwalk out of CIAC boys hockey tournament for major, misconduct penalties, 2023 CIAC Boys Basketball state tournament storylines, top players and predictions, David Borges: Our selections for inaugural Associated Press Big East men's basketball awards, Dave's Hot Chicken planning four locations in Hartford area, UConn women's basketball at Big East Tournament: Here's what you need to know, M&T Bank customer complaints are 'continuing challenge,' CT attorney general tells legislators, The Best Window Replacement Companies in CT, Guide to Legal Cannabis Dispensaries in CT, The Best Kitchen Remodeling Companies in CT, The Best Bathroom Remodeling Companies in CT, Behind Nika Mhl's surprise call from UConn great Sue Bird, Cannabis advocates protest CT's recreational-use rollout, CT SPCA volunteers 'humbled' as hundreds file to adopt pets, Warrant: Ex-CT 'lunch lady' sent nude pics to student for months. Republican. Yet, amid this violence, a hopefulness shines through. Many people around them, including children that they already had, would suffer. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The. ARCANA: I think that folks who watch this film will be prompted to ask themselves, what would I do? Educational DVDs of The Abortion Divideare available from ShopPBS for Teachers. The film's stories of women's desperation are haunting . Access to Postabortion Contraception | ACOG I asked if you thought it was OK. Judith Arcana was one of them. The committee was tasked with producing a report with policy recommendations, but Himes wanted to go further than that. Seven Janes were arrested, along with the clientele in the apartment. New HBO documentary 'The Janes' examines pre-Roe v. Wade underground In this short documentary, FRONTLINE followed a group of African American anti-abortion activists and their work inside the Black community. Shout Gladi Gladi. Finally the filmmakers took out a newspaper ad in The Chicago Reader. Almost daily, the Reproductive Health Services clinic in Montgomery, Alabama, receives several versions of the same call: Are yall still doing abortions?". Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, outgoing chair of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, presents pro-life initiative Walking with Moms in Need to the U.S. bishops in . They spoke all of three sentences to me the entire time. The class also watched the only documentary previously made on the subject, Allyson Beutkes Behind Closed Doors: The Dark Legacy of the Johns Committee. The Common Good: A Documentary (2010 Video) 21 min | Documentary, Short, Comedy Rate Two Catholic women who have reconciled their faith with their support of the right to choose travel across Wisconsin to spread their message. The development of medication abortion has vastly changed the landscape. Gasparilla International Film Festival 2012. The abortion clinic is less than a mile from Texas, where abortion is illegal. The documentary and supporting materials serve as a perfect springboard to have healthier, deeper, more connective conversations about abortion in your context. Howard agreed to help the friends sister and continued to perform abortion services for women who came to Booth for assistance until she lost touch with him. But The Janes is so much more than a mere history lesson. Some eventually began performing abortions themselves after the older man they previously relied on, who used the code name Dr. Will this fantastic documentary about abortion and life change hearts