The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service

The story of Jane-and *this* story of Jane-is unfortunately, a vital one in this contemporary age. It is recommended reading for medical health enthusiasts, women's rights advocates, political activists of all kinds, and people who just plain old like a tale about people getting together and making sure their own needs are met.

This book takes a historical (even if partly rose colored) look back at the days before Roe vs Wade, and a group of women with a commitment to women's self determinationAlthough it is still a radical idea in our day (which accounts for the stalking of patients, bombing of Clinics and the killing of medical personel)these women realized that control over one's reproductive system was essential for survival. Women who found themselves pregnant had very limited options (there were no laws against firing pregnant workers or dismissing students and child support payments were very lax in enforcement by modern standards)and Jane sought to change that system. The change is even more remarkable in light of the fact that many of these women were college students like myself. Because this book is so well written, you can almost feel the excitement and terror as many collective members were changing the system. Understandably, the use of pseudonyms was a necesitity both then and now. Even though we know that abortion was legalized in Roe the mood is so well set in the book, "Never Again" rings throughout the pages. Although Jane members do not regret what they did, it is obvious that they do not want another generation to resort to such extra-legal methods. One generation was once too many. In addition to individual reading and research, this book might be useful for a course on American women's history and/or a general course in the 1960's-1970s.