Yesterday, we went to see Call Jane, a new film starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver. Set in the late 1960s, it is a fictionalized account of the true story of a group of women who organized themselves to provide safe abortions in Chicago in the years before the Roe versus Wade decision, when access to abortions was often controlled by the Mafia.
It was a matinee, and we were alone in the theater, except for one guy who came in after the film had started. However, it needs to be seen. It is a powerful film—one that is especially relevant in this post-Roe time, when the Supreme Court has taken away the rights that Roe had ensured over the past half-century.
Interestingly, Call Jane is not alone. HBO Max is offering a documentary about the same group of women. It is called The Janes. Here is a link to a review.
The phenomenon portrayed in these programs is one that Americans need to explore. With abortion now being outlawed in different ways by different states, Call Jane allows us to look back just a generation ago to see what America is doing to itself again.
