(The following is part of our weekong Roe v. Wade Blog-a-thon)

“We are women whose ultimate goal is the liberation of women in society. One important way we are working toward that goal is by helping any woman who wants an abortion to get one as safely and cheaply as possible under existing conditions...” – Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation (JANE) Pamphlet, 1969

Existing conditions in 1969 meant that abortion was illegal, under almost all circumstances, as was providing information about it. Desperate women were forced to extreme measures to end unwanted pregnancies and in the years before legalization it’s estimated that more than five thousand women died from botched “back alley” abortions every year.

At 22, I’m part of a second generation of women that’s never lived this reality. By 1969, New York was a year away from legalization and a case in Texas was working it’s way up the pipe, pushed along by a determined young lawyer named Sarah Weddington. She argued her first case, given the name Roe v. Wade, to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1973 – and changed the history and future of American women forever.

That’s ‘sheroism’ – and we owe a debt of gratitude to Weddington, and to the Redstockings of New York City, who organized the first abortion speak-out, and to George  Michaels, who effectively ended his political career when he changed his vote from ‘No’ to ‘Yes’ to allow New York State to legalize abortion, and to all the nameless activists who protested, wrote, and lobbied for the rights we now enjoy.

But, of course, not all that activism was within the confines of the law. In 2006, I got the opportunity to meet and live with for a time one of the feminist outlaws who put political belief into direct action despite the threat of jail time. In 1969, Heather Booth started JANE, an underground abortion service that coordinated safe and relatively affordable abortions for women in Chicago and anyone else who could get there. The service operated until legalization in 1973 and estimates that they helped about 11,000 women end their pregnancies safely.

The story of JANE is fascinating; there is a great book and a film if you want more information. I interviewed Heather as a part of the Roe v. Wade Blogathon to find out what inspired her courageous activism and what advice she has for those of us on the front lines today:


Shelby: Not only did you start Jane, but did a lot of other great activist things like starting Midwest Academy and training for the Democratic party. What in your background contributed to your activism?

Heather: I also came from a family with good family values--belief in people, in treating others with dignity. I learned that democracy and freedom are important and worth fighting for.  Our family talked over events of the day and the news and I saw there were things worth fighting for and worth fighting to change.

Shelby: So those were all the things that you were thinking about when that first woman came to you. Explain how Jane got started.

Heather: I had returned from Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964, helping to focus the attention of the country on the plight of poor Black people in Mississippi as a way to focus on voting and civil rights.  I learned the importance of the golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I learned the need, sometimes, to violate an unjust law with civil disobedience when there was higher moral purpose.  I learned that if we act together, we could change history for the better.
 
A friend of mine told me his sister was pregnant, was nearly suicidal and needed an abortion.  I don't know if I ever thought about the issue before (remember this was 1964-65, a much more private time about sex).  I wasn't sure what to do, but thought I should help.  I called someone in the Medical Committee for Human Rights (set up to support the civil rights movement) and they led me to a doctor.  I learned only a few years ago that he had been a fighter for civil rights in Mississippi and moved to Chicago only when his name appeared on a Klan death list.  He trusted me.  The procedure was successful.  A few months later, someone else called and asked me how to get an abortion.  I connected them; that was also successful.  Then someone else called and I realized there was a bigger need than I realized and we would need some greater system.

Shelby: I have read that you said you had never really thought much about abortion before you started referring women. Can you explain your initial thoughts about it? Did you immediately think it was a political, feminist issue or did that come later?

Heather: Initially I did not think of it as "political." I thought it was doing a good deed (as in the golden rule) supporting those in need, but not my social change work.  I also tried to live my beliefs and thought the personal was political.  We should act on our beliefs--personally and socially. I was glad that it was helping and supporting women.

Over time I came to see that it was part of a challenge to how a professional mostly male (at that time) medical system treated women, aided by the legal system--both where women had little representation or equal access.

Shelby: When we talk about activism around Roe, we talk about working for either a law or a repeal of abortion laws. What you did was completely outside of that. Do you/ did you think of yourself as an outlaw? Was this the only illegal thing you ever did as an activist?

Heather: In so many ways, I am so law abiding -- I didn't litter, I crossed at the green (not in between). But when there is illegitimate authority, as there was on civil rights being denied by race, or an immoral war in Vietnam, or in South Africa, then it is time to take action.  But the action is worth taking outside of the law not only if the law is immoral (or those enforcing it are acting immorally) but also if it helps to organize to change that law and to help convince people that the laws must be just and to give people the confidence that they can make such a change. We should not confuse the legality, or illegality, of our actions with their importance. What matters is how they contribute to actually building a movement for change: improving people's lives, giving people a sense of their own power and changing the relations of power.

Shelby: What is the legacy of JANE? What can young activists learn from your experiences?

Heather: If we organize we can change the world --and we have. We should never let our lack of confidence hold us back--together we can support each other, live our values and build a better society.