Roe, Wade and America
In the early 1970s, law enforcement leaders in Chicago decided the practice of illegal abortion was intolerable in their city and undertook a campaign to root out those who performed the procedure in secret.
On a tip, police turned their attention to “Call Jane”, a feminist collective of young women who, since 1965, had provided safe but illegal abortions to roughly 3,000 Chicagoans per year. A Chicago homicide detective traced “Jane” to the South Shore neighbourhood. Police raided an apartment and arrested nearly 50 people for questioning.
Seven women were charged with 11 counts of performing an abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion. But the Call Jane members protected people they served.
