The Beginning of an Era.
After the Jane service had been referring abortions for some time, the Jane members discovered the 'doctor' to whom they were referring women was really not a doctor.[11] This was a key turning point for the service as the Jane members had to decide what to do next; they chose to perform the abortions themselves.[12] Two of the head Jane members, Jody Parsons and Ruth Surgal, began to educate other service members on the female body and how to perform the procedure. [13]This is when Jane transformed from a service referring women to an abortionist to a service where Jane members performed the abortions themselves. This transformation was not just physical but also meant something in an ideological sense.
Jane members began to develop emotional bonds with each other as they realized they were giving women control over their own bodies. Jeanne Galazeter Levy explains in the documentary “Jane: An Abortion Service” that members of Jane felt the service was the right place for them, “It wasn't about talking, or meaning, or understanding, it was about doing”.[14] Jane members became “ideologically committed to making their decisions by a collective” based on their new role and responsibility as abortion providers.[15] The Jane members did not shy away from their new responsibilities but rather used the transition to performing abortions as a way to empower each other by sharing knowledge on the female anatomy. Judith Arcana, one of the members of Jane explains, “I learned about the emotional situation it was for women who go through abortions, I learned a whole lot of stuff about gynaecology”. [16] Empowerment came as Jane members no longer had to rely on doctors to make decisions about women’s bodies; they could now assist women directly. One of the Jane members recalls using a speculum for the first time and thinking to herself, “I can do this, I can totally do this”.[17] This newfound responsibility and empowerment allowed Jane members to be driven by feminist ideologies and develop a collective that was aware of the struggle for reproductive rights but even more aware of how they provided a solution.
To watch a youtube video with clips taken from a Democracy Now! interview with two Jane members Laura Kaplan and Alice Fox click here.