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    Before 'Roe v. Wade,' The Women of 'Jane' Provided Abortions For The Women Of Chicago

    In 1965, a group known as Jane began connecting pregnant women in Chicago with doctors willing to perform abortions. Jane members later learned to perform the procedure, making it more accessible.
    by Nellie Gilles Jan 19, 2018 5 minutes
    Formed in 1965, Jane was an underground network in Chicago that counseled and helped women who wanted to have abortions. (From left) Martha Scott, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, Abby Parisers, Sheila Smith and Madeline Schwenk were among the seven members of Jane arrested in 1972.

    In 1971, Winnette Willis was a 23-year-old single mom in Chicago when she became pregnant again. "I was terrified of having another child," she tells Radio Diaries.

    Before the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade 45 years ago, abortion was illegal in most of the United States, including in Illinois.

    Women like Willis who wanted to terminate their pregnancies had limited and often frightening options. She wasn't sure what to do. And then one day, while she was waiting on an L train platform, she saw a sign.

    "The sign said, 'Pregnant? Don't Want to Be? Call Jane.' And a phone number," Willis remembers. "So, I called."

    "If you really care about something, you have to act on it"

    "Jane" was an underground network in Chicago that counseled and helped women who wanted to

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