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JANE: Abortion and the Underground

My wife, Erika, produced several wildly successful shows of The Vagina Monologues for V-Day at San Jose State last year and the year before. While highly entertaining, these did not feature professional actors, but were community theatre shows where San Jose State students and other members of the community were invited to participate.

Well, now she’s getting to do the real deal. At Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG) she is co-producing the Bay Area’s premiere of JANE: Abortion and the Underground by Paula Kamen, and this will be a full-blown production with actors and a director with stage experience, plus costumes and sets and everything. The show is a week from Saturday, January 22nd, at the Brava Theater in San Francisco. To buy tickets, call 415-202-7233 or buy them online (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Erika is really excited, as she’s wanted to put on this show ever since she first heard about it. I just read the script, so I can see why. It’s a fascinating story. JANE is set in the Chicago area from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s, before abortion was legal, and covers the true story of a group of young women volunteers who formed an underground abortion service, The Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, nicknamed “Jane.” Unlike most other underground abortionists of the time who were in it solely for the money, Jane volunteers were made up of students and housewives who focused on the safety, health, and mental well-being of their patients, and they had such a good reputation that they received thousands of referrals from even the clergy and police.

From a feminist and choice standpoint, it’s a timely reminder of the way things used to be (and very well might be again), as well as a celebration of those who went above and beyond to help women take control of their own reproductive health safely and affordably. Here’s some of Erika’s e-mail announcing the play:

Join Planned Parenthood Golden Gate for a night of theater and discussion.

JANE: Abortion and the Underground

A play by Paula Kamen
Directed by Rebecca Longworth
One Night Only!

The Brava Theater
2781 24th Street
San Francisco, CA

1/22/2005 from 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm (Pacific Time)

JANE: Abortion and the Underground is the true story of a group of women who formed an underground abortion service in the Chicago area from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s, before abortion was legal. The play will be followed by a panel discussion about the current threats to legal abortion in the United States and the future of the reproductive rights movement.

Tickets are $10-20 Suggested Donation

To buy tickets, call 415-202-7233 or visit our online store. JANE tickets are listed at the bottom of the page BELOW the luncheon tickets. There are separate listings for tickets priced at $10, $20 and $30. Please consider buying a $20 or $30 ticket to support our work. All proceeds benefit Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.

Note that all tickets will be held at Will Call, so if you buy online, you can disregard the part of the form that asks you how to ship the tickets.

What really piques my interest is the clear commitment to authenticity. All of the characters are real people, and about a third of the script is made up of the actual real-life text from oral histories and interviews. Plus, the cast even learned the basic steps of a D&C. It sounds like it’s going to be a hell of a show.

You can find some of the actual documentation about Jane at the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union. Here’s a bit of what they say:

Today it’s hard to remember when abortion was illegal. But before the Roe vrs. Wade court decision of 1973, women with unwanted pregnancies faced difficult choices.

Women with money could travel to a country where abortion was legal. Those without that option could take their chances with illegal abortionists in this country. Others tried dangerous self-induced abortions, making the coat hanger a national symbol of women’s desperation. Each year an estimated 5,000 women died from botched abortions.

The Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, better known by its nickname “Jane”, began as an underground referral group. Eventually they decided to perform the abortions themselves.

Former Jane members estimate that they performed more than 11,000 illegal abortions. Working under difficult clandestine conditions, Jane became legendary on the streets of Chicago for the quality of its care and the dedication of its members.

Again, the show is a week from Saturday, January 22nd, at the Brava Theater in San Francisco (incidentally, where we saw Nickel & Dimed a couple years ago). To buy tickets, call 415-202-7233 or buy them online (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Update 1/23/05

Thanks to anybody who showed up. The show was a resounding success (and hey, I enjoyed VIP seating and received special thanks in the program)! They needed about 80 people to break even, and got close to 300 people, almost filling up the Brava. And Rebecca Longworth created a captivating show. It got a full standing ovation! I was particularly impressed by the acting, most especially Megan Harding (Jody) and Sarah Savage (Judith), but also John Simpson (the doctor, among others), Laura Jane Coles (Ruth), Carli Lowe (Micki), and Lisa Dokken (Carol and Lory). I hope you got a chance to see it. I am sooo proud of my wife!!!