The Janes

Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes's 2022 documentary is about an underground organisation founded in Chicago in the late sixties. In years when abortion was a crime, the group working under the name Jane built a network to provide safe, affordable abortions to women with unwanted pregnancies; it worked with doctors at first, and later its members learned to perform the procedure themselves. Using hospital records, the film shows that women of the period had little choice other than the mob or dangerous practitioners. Seven members were arrested in a police raid in the spring of 1972, and the case was dropped after the Roe decision. The account rests largely on the present-day testimony of these women, many of whom speak under their own names for the first time. It won an Emmy. Who it's for: viewers interested in recent history and stories of collective organising. Who it's not for: anyone wanting to hear both contested sides; the film stands openly with the members of Jane.