AMY SIMPSON, UCF College of Arts & Humanities Web Team, LOU ELLEN KRAMER In the documentary, members of Jane, who themselves were predominantly middle- and upper-class white women, spoke about recognizing the problematic dynamic. The collective was always under surveillance, but, they noted, because male authorities from police to judges had themselves solicited services for their wives, daughters and mistresses, they were able to operate largely without police interference. Powerful evidence of the unimaginable., Clara Germani, The Christian Science Monitor. AT UCF PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. 4. The film traces the committee's origins in the era of McCarthyism and anti-gay propaganda while detailing the personal stories of those intimately involved with its activities. "I wanted it over with and I didn't . Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2013 FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. But months before her passing, Nick Sweeneys documentary examines how McCorvey overcame poverty, neglect and abuse all while being positioned as the symbol in one of Americas most contentious modern debates. It was updated to reflect the correct year. Drawing on a landmark FRONTLINE film from the 1980s, the documentary. Suncoast Emmy Award Nomination - Editor But when youre talking about people and their hopes to better themselves economically, you can tell some wonderful stories., Drawing a parallel to the U.S. House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, Himes said, They radically changed the way a congressional committee communicates with the American public and we did the same thing with this documentary.. Susan Geiger Feel free to share it around. And how they are designed, to maintain the white-supremacist patriarchy, means that they will continue to harm and criminalize women, queer and trans and racially marginalized people no matter what the law says. There is no moral argument for legacy preferences at places like Yale University. In 2009, one of the very few remaining providers of third-trimester abortions in the country, Dr. George Tiller, was shot to death. ANDY HUSE, ARTSERVE FT. LAUDERDALE The documentary and supporting materials serve as a perfect springboard to have healthier, deeper, more connective conversations about abortion in your context. Copyright Laws of the United States, Photos taken by Flip Schulke Flip Schulke Anti-abortion activists have tapped into that sentiment in Virginia and elsewhere and are proposing changes to zoning laws to stop the clinics from moving in. Yet, amid this violence, a hopefulness shines through. Casey allowed states to restrict access, so long as they did not place an undue burden on women seeking the procedure. BOOTH: A friend of mine said that his sister was pregnant, nearly suicidal, not prepared to have a child. Almost daily, the Reproductive Health Services clinic in Montgomery, Alabama, receives several versions of the same call: Are yall still doing abortions?". 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. Arcana was married to Pildes father, Michael, so she was familiar with the history of Jane, Pildes said. Esposito, a web application developer for a tech company, presented emotional testimony before the committee in support of Senate Bill 798, which seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution, if approved by voters in 2024. Among the signatories are the Global Justice Center, Pregnancy Justice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Get in the bathroom. Weve seen consistent lip service from the Biden-Harris administration, but not enough action, she said. DORRIE BARRON: I was petrified. Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida in January, 2015. Columbia/SONY, Inc. Anita Bryant Orange Juice Advertisement So weve got to address those things.. Dorrie Barron tells us what it was like for her to get an abortion before the Janes and Roe v. Wade came along. I asked if you thought it was OK. DEL BARCO: The Janes hired an attorney who had represented the Black Panthers. The US government just took two big steps on abortion. Exclusive: letter from human rights groups says overturning of the constitutional right violates USs obligations as a UN member state. 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. used by permission and protected by the I cried with her: the diary of a doctor navigating a total abortion ban. Essential Partners COMMANDER MICHAEL CALDERIN AND THE She delayed the case for months, and charges were dropped when the Supreme Court ruled abortion was legal in 1973. The House State Affairs Committee passed a bill making it illegal for an adult to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, with the intent to conceal it from the parents or guardians . The collectives origin story is not unlike the origin stories of other movements: A call for help catalyzes an action, which results in another related action, and another. So we had about over 100 counts of felony homicide against us, each of us. After realizing the consequences of anti-abortion law around the world, she took it upon herself to provide abortions on ships in the ocean. (617) 923-1216, Ext 24, PO Box 400175, Cambridge, MA 02140info@whatisessential.org 1970. The broadcast version of the film is significantly different from the film festival version, in that it highlights USFs role in bringing media attention to the Johns Committee, ultimately causing the committees downfall. This historical context, now made contemporary in light of the Supreme Courts leaked draft opinion, has set the stage for The Janes, a new documentary premiering on HBO on Wednesday, June 8. One of the reasons we get screwed up in Washington is we stop thinking about real people and we start thinking about stereotypes That destroys your ability, destroys the empathy that is required to be thoughtful about trying to help real people.. Directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, this film spotlights the Chicago-based underground abortion network called The Jane Collective. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. DEL BARCO: Then they'd move to another Jane's home, what they called the place. DEL BARCO: Posting the phone number on bulletin boards and underground newspapers, the Janes set up a clandestine system. 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 . But The Janes is so much more than a mere history lesson. After the genocide in Rwanda and atrocities in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in the 1990s, the world vowed never again. Then came the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, which began 20 years ago. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The documentary provides a somewhat chronological account of their work, ending with the public arrest of several of its members, the threat of long prison sentences, and the interventions of their attorney. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., speaks during the pro-abortion rights rally at the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge in downtown Westport, Conn. Sunday, May 8, 2022. JOHN TILESTON 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. KAREN GRAVES Lets hope that incites us to action, and not to despair. UCF Office of Instructional Resources MONICA MONTICELLO, MONICA MONTICELLO Abortions happened long before Roe v. Wade, and they will continue to happen long after its apparently imminent demise. 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. In private meetings across the country, many are asking the same question: what next? 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. The film traces the committee's origins in the era of McCarthyism and anti-gay propaganda while detailing the personal stories of those intimately involved with its activities. The actions she took on became known as Women on Waves. These documentaries offer context on how America reached this moment. Accuracy and availability may vary. As a result of the Johns Committees efforts, more than 200 gay and lesbian students and teachers were expelled or fired. BOB GRAHAM JUDITH POUCHER Jane was born first as a continuation of Booths referral service, and then as a counseling service. Many of them hadnt even told the stories to their families or their friends, so this was a big move for them, Lessin said. If you do not see your local station listed here, we urge you to contact them and ask them to air this film. Judith Arcana was one of them. Michael Hugo, the chair of the Framingham Democratic Committee said during a Feb. 7, Framingham, Massachusetts, city council meeting that special needs children who aren't aborted are a financial . On June 1, 2016 the film will be released to more than 70 local public television stations via APT. How the Supreme Courts Conservative Majority Came to Be. But doing so gave them a real understanding of what they were capable of at a time when a lot of women were told they werent capable of much, Pildes said. 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. This fall, Himes, a former Wall Street banker, won an eighth term as Connecticuts 4th District representative in Congress. In the film, they describe taking turns helping the women who called. The film's stories of women's desperation are haunting . Actress Sarah Jessica Parker narrates the piece, acknowledging briefly in the introduction that her own family faced financial difficulties during her childhood. So we thought, We can be of use.. The following people and organizations have made the public television broadcast of our film possible through their generous contributions. Two members of the Chicago Police Departments homicide unit show up to the apartment where the abortions were being done that day and were baffled. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. UCF OFFICE OF LGBTQ SERVICES Shout Gladi Gladi. That also means empowering through education, via practices designed explicitly to provide information. These abuses lie firmly at the Biden administrations door, added Ryan from the Global Justice Center. Booth says she found a willing doctor who promised safe, secure procedures. Many former members told their stories publicly for the first time in The Janes, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. According to the media gossip platform Def Noodles, the video received more than 33,000. Used by permission, Cover From Newsweek, June 6,1977, IBT MEDIA Fifty years ago, Floridas Legislative Investigative Committee, led by Senator Charley Johns sought to remove homosexuals from Florida's state universities. 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". And The Janes offers a template for organized feminist action. Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. They each were charged with eleven counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. But for what it's worth, I didn't ask how often or when at all it might happen. KATHRYN PAULSON Some eventually began performing abortions themselves after the older man they previously relied on, who used the code name Dr. That said, Himes is committed to shaping policy that evens the playing field. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. DAVID MORAN The film tracked abortion opponents actions: lobbying state legislatures, looking to see where courts drew the line on what constituted an undue burden, then seeking to incrementally restrict abortion access within those evolving parameters. The Fight For Women's Bodies Contains some upsetting scenes. Screenings come with free resources, including the official ABORTION TALKS dialogue guide by Essential Partners. Enlarge this image. ET June 8), takes you inside an underground network of women providing access to affordable, safe and illegal abortions in Chicago, in the 1960s and 1970s. That is when labor is induced, the babies path is blocked in the vagina, and the babies brain is sucked out if its skull. House Bill 4006 repeals the 1931 law, which states it's illegal for any individual, mainly doctors, to assist . But people would be banned from using the process to change abortion laws. This documentary, accompanied by dozens of in-depth interviews published as part of the FRONTLINE Transparency Project, examined then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells decades-long campaign to transform the nations highest court and its profound implications. The ads were the work of an underground abortion network started by University of Chicago student Heather Booth that helped an estimated 11,000 Chicago women obtain safe and affordable abortions before Roe v. Wade was handed down. 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 . Tel : 617-923-1216 Even before last year's Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, a recent international surge in films about abortion rights and the endangerment thereof from period pieces like . No women whom Jane served are known to have died from their abortions. Rep. Barbara . We tried to do it with as much respect and understanding as we could.. FRONTLINEs latest documentary, "The Abortion Divide," paints a portrait of the complicated, personal issues surrounding abortion. After her 1995 denouncement of Roe v. Wade, Jane Roe was seen as going to the other side. We did it. Apr. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. The law cannot and should not stop people from seeking out life-saving health care. We'll help you. Rather, to invoke Ijeoma Oluo, they are working according to their design. Some women tried to self-induce abortions using objects or chemicals, which often led to infection and sometimes death. Experts believe that the use of a law traditionally used against physical threats could change the landscape. Detailing the decades-long abortion debate, these docs give context to the historic Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The Janes meets our political moment and reinforces the message of people power and that when people organize, they can change the world. As a new U.S. Supreme Court term begins, revisit FRONTLINE documentaries that show how conservatives gained a court majority and give context for last term's major decisions on abortion, guns & more. June 8, 2022. More 33 mins 13 Jun 2018. The 30-minute documentary, "Grit & Grace: The Fight for the American Dream," features three families facing varied economic challenges a North Carolina man grieving his parents while working to finish college, a family caring for twin sons with special needs in West Virginia and an immigrant mom in California who struggled to keep her business New HBO doc The Janes offers a preview of a post-Roe future by looking to the past, The Janes, a new documentary premiering on HBO, New documentary tells story of a secret all-women group who provided safe abortions before Roe, Support for legal abortion now at its highest point ever, polling shows. Word spread, and by 1968 Booth realized she needed more help to continue her referral service. 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. Pervasive sexual assault by the men conducting abortions. The law was rendered unconstitutional after the passage of Proposal 3 in November. Prior to the Roe v. Wade case, the so-called "Janes" built the underground organization and assisted an estimated 11,000 women. Two new films tell the story. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: The person who was doing the abortion came in. 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. FRONTLINE goes inside the fight over abortion, told through the stories of women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. In the 2020 documentary AKA Jane Roe, the original anonymous plaintiff of Roe v. Wade, now known to be Norma McCorvey, speaks out about her 1995 decision to condemn abortion. Suncoast Emmy Awards 2014, Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts 2012, Atlanta's Out On Film LGBT Film Festival 2014 Roewas egregiously wrong from the start, Alito wrote in his draft, which also takes aim at the 1992 Supreme Court rulingPlanned Parenthood v. Casey. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. "The Janes" is streaming on HBO Max. While serving as an usher at his Wichita, Kansas, church, Dr. Tiller was killed by an anti-abortion extremist. As far as I can tell, theres a huge commonality of interests between radically different levels of affluence, he said. The procedure is done by a licensed healthcare professional.. That was it. 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. After a Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked last month indicating that the justices are likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, it felt like the time for us to come together to give women a platform to talk about what it looks like when abortion is criminalized, Pildes said. to meet secretly for six years under the guidance of Essential Partners co-founder Laura R. Chasin. Florida Senator Charley Johns chaired the committee, and its aim was to root out communist and homosexual teachers and students from state universities. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday fielded questions from lawmakers regarding alleged anti-Catholic, anti-pro-life bias within the . Scott Goldberg Yet its not goodbye. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. So we thought, we can be of use. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 409 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2188. Natasha Hellerich You need an abortion. From left: Martha Scott, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, Abby Parisers, Sheila Smith and Madeline Schwenk. DEL BARCO: The Janes say their clients included wives and girlfriends of police officers. 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. MARIE LERNER: We need to turn the anger, the fear, the concern we've got into protest. BOOTH: And word spread, and someone else called. Member states are obliged to protect and uphold the rights to life, health, privacy, liberty and security, along with freedoms from torture and inhumane, cruel or degrading treatment. Revisit the documentaries below to understand how America reached this moment. After Tiller is streaming on Amazon Prime. To help you learn more about the history behind this courts contentious ruling, TheWrap has gathered five essential documentaries to watch. Educational DVDs of The Abortion Divideare available from ShopPBS for Teachers. ! they shouted, going from room to room looking for a male physician. Debating an amendment on Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) graphically described what a partial-birth abortion is, and talk-radio host Mark Levin played the clip and commented that the media will never show Americans the procedure, adding that it is "Mengele-like" and that the Democrat Party fully supports such barbarism. In the ward at the former Cook County Hospital in Chicago, now John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, death was a common occurrence, according to a 2019 BuzzFeed essay written by Allan Weiland, who worked in the ward as a medical student and appears in The Janes.. April 23 and August 27, 2019 An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. 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? Copyright 2022 NPR. Students were required to read And They Were Wonderful Teachers, a book by Karen Graves, Ph.D., about the Johns Committees persecution of public school teachers. Do you understand that? Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Abortion Law, 6 FRONTLINE Documentaries for Supreme Court-Watchers, How a Hacking Case Could Shape Protections For Abortion Clinics, As "Abortion Reversal" Laws Spread, Doctors and Scientists are Pushing Back, After Abortion Ban Attempt in Alabama, a Flood of Confusion and Phone Calls, With Planned Parenthood Out of Title X, Clinics Face A Terrible Choice, Medical Abortions Have Changed Abortion Access And They're Available on the Internet, How States Are Preparing For A Potential Roe v. Wade Challenge, What's Changed Inside and Outside Abortion Clinics Over 30 Years. Excellent, important, timely, urgent, and needs to be seen and discussed widely., Peter Coleman, expert and author of The Way Out. June: National Right to Life brings together state . Rev. A new documentary tells the story of "The Jane Collective," a group that helped women with nowhere else to turn for a safe abortion, in the days before Roe v. Wade. The Committee is a documentary film about the little-known Florida Legislative Investigative Committee of the State Legislature from 1956-1965. COLLEEN HAMILTON, LYNN AND LOUIS WOLFSON II 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.