Inspired by Depression-era photographer Walker Evans whose iconic work documented rural poverty on behalf of the Interior and Agriculture departments the committee assigned itself some creative extra credit: producing a documentary movie. The Common Good: A Documentary (2010 Video) 21 min | Documentary, Short, Comedy Rate Two Catholic women who have reconciled their faith with their support of the right to choose travel across Wisconsin to spread their message. Howard, a Black surgeon and civil rights leader who had recently moved to Chicago after receiving death threats from the KKK for speaking out about Emmett Tills murder. Beginning in June 2016, the film will be broadcast on more than 70 local public television stations through the American Public Television Exchange, via presenting station WUSF-TV. But when youre talking about people and their hopes to better themselves economically, you can tell some wonderful stories., Drawing a parallel to the U.S. House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, Himes said, They radically changed the way a congressional committee communicates with the American public and we did the same thing with this documentary.. ELIZABETH JENSEN-FORBELL, LOGAN KRIETE BOOTH: A friend of mine said that his sister was pregnant, nearly suicidal, not prepared to have a child. Washington D.C., Jun 23, 2021 / 09:00 am. The Jane group evaded law enforcement until seven Janes were arrested in 1972. How the Supreme Courts Conservative Majority Came to Be. O n the day Angela Saini talks to me from her book-lined study in New York, the patriarchy is hard at work all over the world. NPR's Mandalit del Barco has this report. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. The Labrant family's YouTube documentary on abortion was met with immediate contempt on social media. And many documentary filmmakers have used their medium over the years to reflect on what led to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and what historical and political developments have led to the continued debate over a womans right to choose. (Amy Davis) Sullivan, a . 11: New York allows abortion on demand up to the 24th week of pregnancy, as Gov. After realizing the consequences of anti-abortion law around the world, she took it upon herself to provide abortions on ships in the ocean. Out Twin Cities Film Festival 2014 BOOTH: I'm hoping that it's actually a call to action. Arcana, now in her 70s, and other members, who were college age to middle age, were known as Jane, a code name used to avoid being caught. WUCF-TV is now streaming The Committee for FREE on their website! Click here to download the complete press kit. ! they shouted, going from room to room looking for a male physician. BOOTH: And word spread, and someone else called. Charges were dropped after Roe v. Wade was decided the following year. The Dobbs ruling pushed the US even further out of line with its human rights obligations, including its obligation to ensure access to abortion and to eliminate structural racism and discrimination, said Annerieke Smaak Daniel, womens rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. According to the media gossip platform Def Noodles, the video received more than 33,000. The House Oversight and Reform hearing came a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee held a similar hearing on the legal ramifications of a controversial Texas law. COMMANDER MICHAEL CALDERIN AND THE IE 11 is not supported. After a Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked last month indicating that the justices are likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, it felt like the time for us to come together to give women a platform to talk about what it looks like when abortion is criminalized, Pildes said. Here is a partial list of stations that will air The Committee. DEL BARCO: Then they'd move to another Jane's home, what they called the place. The collective was always under surveillance, but, they noted, because male authorities from police to judges had themselves solicited services for their wives, daughters and mistresses, they were able to operate largely without police interference. Apr. Abortion restrictions, the signatories write, deny womens decisional and bodily autonomy in a way that rejects the agency, dignity and equality of people who can become pregnant.. Jennifer 8. It was successful in either firing or expelling more than 200 suspected gay Vessel is Rebecca's story: one of a woman who heard and answered a calling, and transformed a wildly improbable idea into a global movement. In the 2020 documentary AKA Jane Roe, the original anonymous plaintiff of Roe v. Wade, now known to be Norma McCorvey, speaks out about her 1995 decision to condemn abortion. The limitations included performing abortions with no formal medical training. This renewed interest is of course not a coincidence. Seven Janes were arrested, along with the clientele in the apartment. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The Idaho House State Affairs Committee moved forward a bill on Friday that would make it a felony crime to transport or recruit a minor for an abortion without parental consent. Editor's note: This review was originally published at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. They were so detailed in care, said Doris, whose second abortion with the collective was remarkably different from her first one, via the Mafia. FRONTLINEs latest documentary, "The Abortion Divide," paints a portrait of the complicated, personal issues surrounding abortion. Nicki Nichols Gamble (top row, right) was the President of Planned Parenthood League of MA at the time of the clinic shootings and throughout the six yearlong dialogues. Drawing on a landmark FRONTLINE film from the 1980s, the documentary takes a look at both sides of the abortion divide in a community still embroiled in the conflict. Interviews with former members and with women who sought their services are interwoven in the documentary with archival footage from septic abortion wards in Chicago hospitals, where women who had illegal abortions or tried to induce their own often wound up with infections and sometimes took their last breaths alone. Thirty-six years after FRONTLINE released 1983s Abortion Clinic, the documentarys producer returned to Pennsylvania to find a community more bitterly divided than ever. When a draft opinion from the Supreme Court leaked last month, suggesting the court could be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the directors of underground abortion network documentary The Janes . Florida Senator Charley Johns chaired the committee, and its aim was to root out communist and homosexual teachers and students from state universities. One of the reasons we get screwed up in Washington is we stop thinking about real people and we start thinking about stereotypes That destroys your ability, destroys the empathy that is required to be thoughtful about trying to help real people.. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., speaks during the pro-abortion rights rally at the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge in downtown Westport, Conn. Sunday, May 8, 2022. We were done. The leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court signaling an intention to overturn Roe v. Wade makes HBO's upcoming documentary "The Janes" extremely timely. The US Supreme Court's 7-2 decision established rules based on a pregnancy trimester framework, banning legislative interference in the first trimester of pregnancy (0-12 weeks), allowing states to regulate abortion during the second trimester (weeks 13-28) "in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health," and allowing a state to But for those who remained, as Jane member Judith Arcana put it, if he could do it, we could do it medical degree be damned. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday fielded questions from lawmakers regarding alleged anti-Catholic, anti-pro-life bias within the . You know, Netflix or HBO isnt going to distribute it, but were hoping that there will be continued interest in showing it around the country., Jim Himes-led committee releases documentary on economic disparity, Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, New Milford aids The Silo nonprofit with $107K facilities upgrade, Stratford resident stunned by earthquake destruction in Turkey, In Photos: African-based food tasting event held in New Canaan, Greenwich parking an obstacle to outdoor dining's return, Arming guidance counselors? In 1965, Heather Booth received that call for help a friends sister was suicidal for want of an abortion. Now, the American Medical Association is fighting back. Even before last year's Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, a recent international surge in films about abortion rights and the endangerment thereof from period pieces like . Weve seen consistent lip service from the Biden-Harris administration, but not enough action, she said. Directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, this film spotlights the Chicago-based underground abortion network called The Jane Collective. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. In private meetings across the country, many are asking the same question: what next? The 1960s, culturally, was rooted in the belief that we are the change we seek, and that radical societal change was possible. The abortion debate has long dominated political discourse on Capitol Hill, particularly in recent years. We tried to do it with as much respect and understanding as we could.. She pointed out, for example, that even with the loss of Roe, the Biden administration could make abortion drugs more readily available by removing unnecessary regulations on certain drugs. Photos taken by Flip Schulke Flip Schulke Yet its not goodbye. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We would try to have refreshments, talk to them, try to keep a pleasant atmosphere for people that were probably terrified out of their minds. used by permission and protected by the Since its first season in 1983, FRONTLINE has been covering the battle over abortion at both the national and state levels. Prior to the Roe v. Wade case, the so-called "Janes" built the underground organization and assisted an estimated 11,000 women. Vessel premiered at SXSW Film Festival in 2014, winning the Audience Award for Documentary in Competition and a Special Jury Award for Political Courage. Documentary shows how women ran underground abortion network before Roe v. Wade ruling, according to a 2019 BuzzFeed essay written by Allan Weiland. Rev. So we had about over 100 counts of felony homicide against us, each of us. The Janes meets our political moment and reinforces the message of people power and that when people organize, they can change the world. RICHARD HARRISON Abortion is a common procedure ( one in four American women will have one, according to the Guttmacher Institute) that has been so flattened into an "issue" that it can feel revelatory to just. DORRIE BARRON: I was petrified. 4. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Footnote 1 The chair of the Republican National Committee, Mary Louise Smith, supported abortion rights, as did First Lady Betty Ford, who declared Roe v. Wade a "great, great decision." Likewise, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, who had taken a leading role in the fight for abortion rights in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s . daniel@whatisessential.org House Bill 4006 repeals the 1931 law, which states it's illegal for any individual, mainly doctors, to assist . Cole and Savannah LaBrant, who run a family YouTube channel called "The LaBrant Fam" where they have over 13 million subscribers, have faced backlash for releasing a video on April 9 labeled a "documentary" about abortion. Florida Film Festival 2013 In the ward at the former Cook County Hospital in Chicago, now John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, death was a common occurrence, according to a 2019 BuzzFeed essay written by Allan Weiland, who worked in the ward as a medical student and appears in The Janes.. The films stories of womens desperation are haunting and ominous. The constant threat of not just being arrested for getting an abortion but for even talking about one which was a felony. In the letter, the signatories ask recipients to communicate with the US about these violations, to request an official visit to the US, and to ask the country to comply with its obligations under international law as a UN member state. For information about screening the film as an individual, in a classroom setting or for your organization, please complete the following form and we'll be back in touch soon. We'll help you. Lessin said the group treated women with care and concern leading up to and during their appointments and stayed in contact with them after their procedures, in contrast to many back-alley male doctors, the worst of whom performed abortions while drunk and sometimes sexually assaulted their patients. As a result of the Johns Committees efforts, more than 200 gay and lesbian students and teachers were expelled or fired. BOB GRAHAM All rights reserved. And all of a sudden, they were gone. Call Jane.. Screenings come with free resources, including the official ABORTION TALKS dialogue guide by Essential Partners. The development of medication abortion has vastly changed the landscape. GEOR, IOWA, KAET, KBDI, KCET, KCPT, KCTS, KENT, KENW, KLRU, KLVX, KNME, KOOD, KPBS, KQED, KQEH, KRCB, KRMA, KRSU, KTOO, KTWU, KVCR, KWSU, NDAK, NEWH, NEWJ, OREG, SDAK, WCET, WCFE, WCVE, WEDU, WFSU, WGBY, WGCU, WILL, WITF, WJCT, WKAR, WLIW, WMHT, WMVS, WNED, WNIN, WNIT, WNMU, WNPT, WOUB, WPBA, WPBT, WPTD, WPTO, WQED, WQPT, WSRE, WTIU, WTVI, WUCF, WUSF, WXXI. Himes said he consulted friends who work in television for advice on who should narrate the piece. While most of the Janes were white, middle-class women, most of those they served were low-income Latinas and Black women. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Essential Partners is a 501(c)3 organization, 2016-2023 Essential Partners |Site Credits. The couple said they wanted to send a message of being "pro-love" rather than "pro-choice" or "pro-life," but viewers have . Nobody wants to spend an hour on [Interstate] 95. The actions she took on became known as Women on Waves. This documentary, accompanied by dozens of in-depth interviews published as part of the FRONTLINE Transparency Project, examined then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells decades-long campaign to transform the nations highest court and its profound implications. LEARNING INSTITUTE FOR ELDERS (L.I.F.E.) This interdisciplinary seminar was a cooperative effort between the History Department and the film program in the School of Visual Arts and Design. Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to intervene over the destruction of abortion rights in the US. Students also interviewed Judith Poucher, Ph.D., who recently released her book State of Defiance: Challenging the Johns Committee's Assault on Civil Liberties. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. Featuring two of the victims and one interrogator, the film exposes the committees subversive activities and how its effects are still felt today. Click here to find a screening in your area. DEL BARCO: The Janes say their clients included wives and girlfriends of police officers. Howard agreed to help the friends sister and continued to perform abortion services for women who came to Booth for assistance until she lost touch with him. Many people around them, including children that they already had, would suffer. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. Abortion reversal laws are based on contested science but states keep passing them. Jane was born first as a continuation of Booths referral service, and then as a counseling service. After helping organize Black voters in Mississippi, she turned her activism to women with unwanted pregnancies. Lets hope that incites us to action, and not to despair. April 23 and August 27, 2019 And many private . Members of the public gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 2022, after a leaked draft majority opinion signaled the likely end of Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of abortion law. Prior to the Roe v. Wade case, the so-called Janes built the underground organization and assisted an estimated 11,000 women. Dont want to be? Filmmakers Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes wish their new HBO documentary, The Janes about a group of Chicago women who covertly helped thousands safely obtain abortions in the late . This documentary tells the story of a young doctor named Rebecca Gomperts. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The. Watch documentaries chronicling Americas abortion battle and the transformation of the U.S. Supreme Court. Officials from the US mission to the UN and the US Gender Policy Council, a White House office established by the Biden administration, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Correction: This story originally stated that Roe v. Wade was decided in 1972. 3 min read The Supreme Court's Dobbs decision has successfully overturned a woman's federal. As the day nears that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, the directors said they hoped viewers would draw inspiration from the former Janes.. The groups in the letter claim that overturning the constitutional right to abortion contravenes the USs international obligations as a UN member organization. UCF Office of Instructional Resources To arrange a press screener, an interview with the filmmakers, Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins, an interview with an Essential Partners expert, or an interview with participating members of THE ABORTION TALKS dialogues, please contact: Daniel Pritchard In 1994, John Salvi, a radical young abortion opponent, opened fire on two clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, and killed two women: Shannon Lowney, a receptionist at Planned Parenthood, and Lee Ann Nichols, who worked as a receptionist at PreTerm, the clinic down the street. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. From left: Martha Scott, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, Abby Parisers, Sheila Smith and Madeline Schwenk. The House State Affairs Committee passed a bill making it illegal for an adult to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, with the intent to conceal it from the parents or guardians . Two members of the Chicago Police Departments homicide unit show up to the apartment where the abortions were being done that day and were baffled. DEL BARCO: "The Janes" airs on HBO next month. To prepare for the Supreme Court's current term, we recommend brushing up on the issues with six FRONTLINE documentaries. While serving as an usher at his Wichita, Kansas, church, Dr. Tiller was killed by an anti-abortion extremist. Member states are obliged to protect and uphold the rights to life, health, privacy, liberty and security, along with freedoms from torture and inhumane, cruel or degrading treatment. Abortions happened long before Roe v. Wade, and they will continue to happen long after its apparently imminent demise. Several decades after Roe v. Wade, the anti-abortion movement had successfully spearheaded campaigns in multiple states, passing laws that limited access to abortion including in Mississippi, where a single facility performing abortions remained. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. This historical context, now made contemporary in light of the Supreme Courts leaked draft opinion, has set the stage for The Janes, a new documentary premiering on HBO on Wednesday, June 8. The documentary premiered this week in Washington, and its available to watch on the congressmans website as well as on YouTube. Members were able to set up a much more compassionate setting that was respectful to women, she said. Directors: Erik Cieslewicz, Brooke Sperry | Stars: Dino Corvino, Liz Hayes, Chrystina Head, Frances Irwin 9. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. Drawing on a landmark FRONTLINE film from the 1980s, the documentary. Around this time, too, abortion became legal in New York state and Washington, D.C., which meant that a large demographic of their clientele middle- and upper-class white women could travel to obtain a legal abortion (abortion was still illegal in Illinois). So weve got to address those things.. Their work dramatically changed when Mike the man who had been performing the procedures after Howard, and who, unbeknownst to some of the Janes, was not a medically licensed physician decided that he didnt want to do it anymore. Rebecca Hodges ANDY HUSE, ARTSERVE FT. LAUDERDALE Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, was tapped last year to lead the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, an issue he said is in my face every single day in his southwestern Connecticut district home to one of the nations highest concentrations of millionaires and some of its most economically distressed communities.