Review of The Janes (2022) by Bertobellamy — 13 Jul 2022

Sadly, 'The Janes' arrives a the right moment. Just days before the constitutional right of American women to have an abortion has been abolished, this HBO documentary offers an inside look at what it meant to terminate a pregnancy illegally in the US before the Roe vs Wade case.

Although strictly conventional, the film presents the testimonies of The Janes, a collective of women who dedicated themselves to secretly performing safe abortions in Chicago in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Listening to them generates a genuine sense of frustration but also one of inspiration; the way these women came together in solidarity is a story worth telling. In addition, 'The Janes' contextualizes the story with the other social struggles of the time —especially the racial and anti-war ones—, delving into the fact that many women could not completely identify with them, almost all led by men.

Through these conversations, the directors manage to capture how these heroines did make a difference by risking their freedom and suffering a great deal of physical and emotional stress.