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A review by analenegrace
The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan
challenging
emotional
informative
Being a woman in America is genuinely exhausting and I think nothing has ever summed it up as much as this book has.
Written before the overturn of Roe v. Wade, it has only become more important in the last two years than ever before. This book tells the story of over 100 women who performed over 11,000 abortions on women who needed them even though it was illegal. They made the decision to do direct actions instead of campaigning for legalization and accomplished more than some activists in a lifetime. This feels like a form of direct action lost to the decades.
I cried at least 3 times reading this. Every woman in the book was so brave, including the abortionists and the women getting abortions. And yet, being brave didn't really have anything to do with it; they were doing what had to be done.
Kaplan, as one of the women who were a part of Jane, writes this story from the memories of these women and doesn't just tell this story as an inspirational story; she is honest about their difficulties and the stress that this put on everyone involved. The group's infighting is actually really important because it reminds you not to idolize these women but instead learn from them and try to do more and better.
Jane is needed now, but I really wonder if this is possible now. We need it so much, and yet it feels like society might be at a point where this kind of direct action is almost impossible.
Truly a must-read for anyone who cares about abortion rights and history.
Written before the overturn of Roe v. Wade, it has only become more important in the last two years than ever before. This book tells the story of over 100 women who performed over 11,000 abortions on women who needed them even though it was illegal. They made the decision to do direct actions instead of campaigning for legalization and accomplished more than some activists in a lifetime. This feels like a form of direct action lost to the decades.
I cried at least 3 times reading this. Every woman in the book was so brave, including the abortionists and the women getting abortions. And yet, being brave didn't really have anything to do with it; they were doing what had to be done.
Kaplan, as one of the women who were a part of Jane, writes this story from the memories of these women and doesn't just tell this story as an inspirational story; she is honest about their difficulties and the stress that this put on everyone involved. The group's infighting is actually really important because it reminds you not to idolize these women but instead learn from them and try to do more and better.
Jane is needed now, but I really wonder if this is possible now. We need it so much, and yet it feels like society might be at a point where this kind of direct action is almost impossible.
Truly a must-read for anyone who cares about abortion rights and history.