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In 1965, Heather Booth became the first, Jane.

Then a student at the University of Chicago, Booth

helped a friend's sister find a safe abortion at a time when the practice was illegal in every

state. Her work sparked a movement and a group that became known as the Jane Collective.

For the article this episode is based on, House D. HustafWorks spoke

with Rainy Horowitz MD, currently a resident at the Emory University Medical School.

She explained that before Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973, quote, getting a safe abortion was not

something that was easy or accessible. This was pre-medication abortion when only safe abortion was not something that was easy or accessible.

This was pre-medication abortion when only surgical abortion was available.

Because those abortions had to happen illicitly, the level of care provided could vary.

Some of the practitioners were Horwitz said these kinds of sketchy, underground, poorly trained,

just trying to make a quick buck abortionists. There were also licensed, trained physicians who were doing abortions very secretly for a larger amount of money.

People seeking abortions at this time, or attempting to perform perform one themselves were putting their lives at risk.

In 1965, as Booth began connecting more people with grassroots care, illegal abortion accounted

for almost one-fifth of all pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths that were officially reported

as such, the actual number was probably

higher. Around the Chicago area, college students and other women who couldn't afford a steep fee for

their safety turned to the budding Jane Collective. It was called that because Jane was a very

every-woman sort of name. The collective posted flyers and ads that read

...