The Jane Bust: The End of an Era
In 1972 the Chicago police department received a call about the Jane service and began to investigate by staking out the reported location.[31] Many of the Jane women believe that this was not the first time the police were tipped off about the service. In fact, members of the Chicago police department often knew someone; a daughter, wife or mother, who had gone to Jane for help and kept the service a secret. [32] Member Jeanne Galatzer recalls, "The police got calls all the time about the service and they ignored them..and that must be true...this can not be the first person that told on us, [it was] thousands of women in a Catholic city ".[33] On May 3rd, 1972 the service was raided and seven members were arrested and charged facing up to 110 years in prison.[34] Lead investigator Theodore O'Conner recalls entering the apartment and finding a fully equipped operating room with three patients undergoing abortions and several more were in the waiting room.[35] Officers proceeded to take all Jane members and clients from the apartment to the police station for further questioning.[36]
Even in a time of chaos where the legal ramifications of the service became very real, the service continued in secret. The remaining members recognized their commitment to fulfilling the goal the collective set out to achieve- helping women access safe abortions. [37] One of the Jane women describes this commitment, “We had to keep things going, we had 250 women waiting to have an abortion.[38] Jane women also recognized that, regardless of the sometimes frictional relationship, they had a commitment to each other and began collecting bail money to free the seven arrested members.[39] With the seven members out on bail, the commitment to the service continued until the passing of the landmark case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in January 1973. During the trial, the lack of physical evidence and oral testimony would made for a difficult conviction. After being sent to a grand jury on August 9th 1972, the Roe v. Wade ruling dismissed the case and charges against the service members were dropped.[40]