In the late 1960s before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion, abortion was a profit center for the mafia. Listening to the recollections of women who had to pay high prices and entrust their bodies to the mafia without securing hygiene and safety, we get to shudder with empathy, and at the same time understand how imperative and desperate the “illegal” abortion which the Jane collective provided was What is impressive is the mutual empathy of Jane collective and their consideration and the mindfulness driven from intersectional awareness of social differences between women. In addition to the mafia, churches also helped women who needed to stop pregnancy in the sense of social service, but they were not as attentive to women as the Janes collective were. They knew that abortion was not just illegal, but a matter of all that power, including class and race. Archive footage from the 1960s and 70s makes us understand the sense of joy and sorrow of the women’s movement at the time, and the presence and courage of the interviewees, including the collective members, resonate with us in the current times. Regardless of the law and institution, women’s history has progressed with one another’s solidarity and courage. [Programmer HWANG Miyojo]
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