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. The documentary premiered this week in Washington, and its available to watch on the congressmans website as well as on YouTube. Dorrie Barron tells us what it was like for her to get an abortion before the Janes and Roe v. Wade came along. Jennifer 8. These documentaries offer context on how America reached this moment. TIA LESSIN: There's audacious women who outmaneuvered the Chicago Police and the Catholic Church and the Chicago mob to help other women in need. Click here to learn more about hosting a screening. The USs role as a leader on the world stage does not exempt the country from these obligations in fact, it should require them to do more, said a representative from the Global Justice Center, which is one of the signatories. The Labrant family's YouTube documentary on abortion was met with immediate contempt on social media. Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida in January, 2015. Efforts to revise the ending of the film began shortly thereafter and WUSF-TV in Tampa agreed to pitch the film to the American Public Television Exchange for national distribution. The broadcast version also updates viewers on same-sex marriage in Florida. The law was rendered unconstitutional after the passage of Proposal 3 in November. They drove women to and from appointments, explained how the process would unfold and babysat their children while they underwent the procedure. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Arrange a preview screening of THE ABORTION TALKS in your campus, library, faith center, or community. Almost daily, the Reproductive Health Services clinic in Montgomery, Alabama, receives several versions of the same call: Are yall still doing abortions?". 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. This interdisciplinary seminar was a cooperative effort between the History Department and the film program in the School of Visual Arts and Design. On June 1, 2016 the film will be released to more than 70 local public television stations via APT. The students who made the film graduated, but stayed in touch with Cassanello and Mills about the films success. AMY SIMPSON, UCF College of Arts & Humanities Web Team, LOU ELLEN KRAMER Charges were dropped after Roe v. Wade was decided the following year. Interviews were conducted with members of the Florida public school system, survivors of the Johns Committee, a retired police officer who worked with the committee, and former Florida governor and retired U.S. "We went old school to find one of the . So goodbye Jane.. The collectives origin story is not unlike the origin stories of other movements: A call for help catalyzes an action, which results in another related action, and another. Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg, the film documents how even conservative presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush supported abortion rights, which changed by 2018 when Republican politicians continued to use anti-abortion as an organizing cause and voting incentive for citizens. Casey allowed states to restrict access, so long as they did not place an undue burden on women seeking the procedure. The Florida Orange Growers Association, UCF Burnett Honors College They note that the UN committee has already established that denial of abortion can cause physical and mental suffering so severe in pain and intensity as to amount to torture. The documentary serves as a cautionary tale, with its release just weeks after a leak from the U.S. Supreme Court suggested the landmark 1973 ruling that established abortion rights nationwide . A new documentary tells the story of "The Jane Collective," a group that helped women with nowhere else to turn for a safe abortion, in the days before Roe v. Wade. COLLEEN HAMILTON, LYNN AND LOUIS WOLFSON II One Jane would drive them to a home they called the front, where another Jane would counsel them. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. But finding women who actually obtained abortions from the Janes was more difficult. DEL BARCO: Until the Supreme Court decision in 1973, abortion was a felony in the state of Illinois, as in most of the country. The film tells the story of a group of Chicago women who in the late 1960s and early 1970s helped pregnant people access abortions. Shout Gladi Gladi. 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. Home Video DVDs of The Abortion Divideare available from ShopPBS. Essential Partners Cassanello, Mills, Hos and their former students launched a fundraising campaign to cover the cost of licensing images and music in the film. The film traces the committee's origins in the era of McCarthyism and anti-gay propaganda while detailing the personal stories of those intimately involved with its activities. Call this number, and ask for Jane. Some haulers caught, Kents progress emerges as top issue in 1st selectman race, Winter storm will bring mix of snow, sleet, rain and flooding to CT, weather service says, Amity, McMahon/Norwalk out of CIAC boys hockey tournament for major, misconduct penalties, 2023 CIAC Boys Basketball state tournament storylines, top players and predictions, David Borges: Our selections for inaugural Associated Press Big East men's basketball awards, Dave's Hot Chicken planning four locations in Hartford area, UConn women's basketball at Big East Tournament: Here's what you need to know, M&T Bank customer complaints are 'continuing challenge,' CT attorney general tells legislators, The Best Window Replacement Companies in CT, Guide to Legal Cannabis Dispensaries in CT, The Best Kitchen Remodeling Companies in CT, The Best Bathroom Remodeling Companies in CT, Behind Nika Mhl's surprise call from UConn great Sue Bird, Cannabis advocates protest CT's recreational-use rollout, CT SPCA volunteers 'humbled' as hundreds file to adopt pets, Warrant: Ex-CT 'lunch lady' sent nude pics to student for months. On May 3, Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the documents authenticity, said that it did not represent a final court decision or the final position of any member on the issues in the case, and requested an investigation into the leak, which he called a singular and egregious breach of trust. 4. After helping organize Black voters in Mississippi, she turned her activism to women with unwanted pregnancies. Have you watched the film on your local PBS station? KAREN GRAVES Abortion reversal laws are based on contested science but states keep passing them. Michael Hugo, the chair of the Framingham Democratic Committee said during a Feb. 7, Framingham, Massachusetts, city council meeting that special needs children who aren't aborted are a financial . Photos taken by Flip Schulke Flip Schulke DAVID MORAN We did it. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Two new films tell the story. That is when such a situation arises. Directors: Erik Cieslewicz, Brooke Sperry | Stars: Dino Corvino, Liz Hayes, Chrystina Head, Frances Irwin 9. (Amy Davis) Sullivan, a . Rather, to invoke Ijeoma Oluo, they are working according to their design. BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE BOOTH: A friend of mine said that his sister was pregnant, nearly suicidal, not prepared to have a child. The organizing principle of the collectives work is care that all health care, fundamentally, should be based on compassionate care. Eventually, the Janes learned to perform the procedure themselves. The U.S. Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a draft majority opinion Politico obtained and published May 2. Before there was Roe V. Wade, there was Jane, and the HBO documentary The Janes (on Crave in Canada at 9:00 p.m. DEL BARCO: Booth, who is 76 years old, has been fighting for women's reproductive rights since she was a 19-year-old college student. The centerpiece of their message: The most dangerous place for an African American child is in the womb.. Feel free to share it around. It has repeatedly called on States parties to the CEDAW Convention to remove punitive measures for women who undergo abortion and to legalize abortion at least in cases of rape, incest, threats to the life or health of the pregnant woman and girls . These abuses lie firmly at the Biden administrations door, added Ryan from the Global Justice Center. FRONTLINE goes inside the fight over abortion, told through the stories of women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. The committee was tasked with producing a report with policy recommendations, but Himes wanted to go further than that. The documentaries below follow doctors, patients, plaintiffs and protesters through periods when politicians on both side of the aisle fought to either maintain or dismantle the Roe v. Wade verdict all these years later. As a result of the Johns Committees efforts, more than 200 gay and lesbian students and teachers were expelled or fired. 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. Nobody wants to spend an hour on [Interstate] 95. That was it. Out Twin Cities Film Festival 2014 Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. Won an Emmy award for his abortion documentary "The Committee" in 1971 only one year after he left his advertising business and established Cusack Productions. Ending the constitutional right to abortion has had far-reaching, and in some cases life-threatening risks, the authors write including for those seeking miscarriage care, those forced to travel across state lines for abortion, and those denied care for potentially fatal complications such as ectopic pregnancies. ET Wednesday, featuring the voices of more than a dozen former members of the group, informally known as Jane, who recount their experiences helping women get access to abortions when they were illegal. But people would be banned from using the process to change abortion laws. What we must remember is that the institutions that serve us are not broken. the committee documentary abortionthe renaissance apartments chicago. Rarely has a documentary been quite so timely as The Janes. Vessel premiered at SXSW Film Festival in 2014, winning the Audience Award for Documentary in Competition and a Special Jury Award for Political Courage. South Carolina introduces bill to punish women who have an abortion by executing them Taking the lead in the red state race to make The Handmaid's Tale a documentary, South Carolina Republicans have introduced a bill that would impose boingboing.net - Mark Frauenfelder 17h Read more on boingboing.net Abortion South Carolina Reproductive Rights This renewed interest is of course not a coincidence. The actions she took on became known as Women on Waves. Anybody can be a catalyst for change. Booth tells her story in "The Janes." UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA BURNETT HONORS COLLEGE, RUTH JENSEN-FORBELL For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Nelson A. Rockefeller signs a bill repealing the state's 1830 law that banned abortion after quickening except to save a woman's life. Jane was born first as a continuation of Booths referral service, and then as a counseling service. Since its first season in 1983, FRONTLINE has been covering the battle over abortion at both the national and state levels. They each were charged with eleven counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion. The group helped an estimated 11,000 women in Chicago get access to safe, affordable abortions in the late 1960s and early 70s. Featuring two of the victims and one interrogator, the film exposes the committees subversive activities and how its effects are still felt today. This story was originally published by Idaho Reports on March 3, 2023. House Bill 4006 repeals the 1931 law, which states it's illegal for any individual, mainly doctors, to assist . Send questions and comments to Lisa.Mills@ucf.edu. The abortion debate has long dominated political discourse on Capitol Hill, particularly in recent years. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. The 8-5 vote along party lines in the House Judiciary Committee came shortly before a Senate Health Policy Committee also voted Wednesday to repeal longstanding Michigan abortion policies. The film was released theatrically in New York . Her first book, "Breaking Free," will be published on September 5, 2023. 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. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Judith Arcana was one of them. This is the question viewers are left with when watching "Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa," a short documentary film offering a glimpse into the lives of five callers to an abortion fund hotline in Philadelphiaeach left with an unplanned pregnancy, no options, and everything to lose. The 30-minute documentary, "Grit & Grace: The Fight for the American Dream," features three families facing varied economic challenges a North Carolina man grieving his parents while working to finish college, a family caring for twin sons with special needs in West Virginia and an immigrant mom in California who struggled to keep her business We'd love to read your comments. Some were anti-war activists or women's lib members, some were homemakers and at least one was a nun. He explained exactly what he was doing. Mississippi residents might get back the ability to enact public policy through statewide ballot initiatives. Roewas egregiously wrong from the start, Alito wrote in his draft, which also takes aim at the 1992 Supreme Court rulingPlanned Parenthood v. Casey. 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. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: For the women coming through, they were putting their trust in somebody who was breaking the law. later, the body is removed and disposed of as medical waste. They would begin to engage in more cross-partisan efforts. Although these doctors are followed by constant threats of violence, these providers compassionately assist women who have to make the decision to terminate advanced, and often wanted, pregnancies. Members were able to set up a much more compassionate setting that was respectful to women, she said. We knew that some would be injured, some would die, former member Judith Arcana says in the film. 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 . 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. 833. With intimate access, The Abortion Divide featured interviews with women with unplanned pregnancies, doctors and nurses who provided abortions, and those who counseled women against the procedure. Film Program in the School of Visual Arts and Design June 8, 2022. The authors say the curtailment of abortion rights in the US is of a piece with the countrys history of devaluing the lives of Black women, who are hit worst by abortion restrictions. Two forthcoming films based on the collective Amazon Studios This Is Jane, starring Michelle Williams, and Roadside Attractions Call Jane, starring Elizabeth Banks, come out later this year in addition to the 2018 feature film Ask for Jane.. Among the signatories are the Global Justice Center, Pregnancy Justice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. That context could have strengthened the documentarys larger political message about civil disobedience as an effective solution to institutional failure. (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images). It also details cases of several patients who had to travel out of state for an abortion after being refused care for an ectopic pregnancy, and others who were denied chemotherapy care due to pregnancy. 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. But months before her passing, Nick Sweeneys documentary examines how McCorvey overcame poverty, neglect and abuse all while being positioned as the symbol in one of Americas most contentious modern debates. Trump documentary maker says he now has 2 armed guards for protection after he gave evidence to January 6 committee Joshua Zitser and Bethany Dawson Jul 2, 2022, 6:06 AM Documentary maker. "I wanted it over with and I didn't . You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. FRED FEJES Finally the filmmakers took out a newspaper ad in The Chicago Reader. Here is a partial list of stations that will air The Committee. All rights reserved. The documentary also reported on the increase in clinic invasions and threats. The class also watched the only documentary previously made on the subject, Allyson Beutkes Behind Closed Doors: The Dark Legacy of the Johns Committee. And for too long, the US has been able to avoid that type of international scrutiny, she said. Watch documentaries chronicling Americas abortion battle and the transformation of the U.S. Supreme Court. There is no moral argument for legacy preferences at places like Yale University. 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. by removing unnecessary regulations on certain drugs. Educational DVDs of The Abortion Divideare available from ShopPBS for Teachers. DEL BARCO: The film shows how the Jane Collective was different. While serving as an usher at his Wichita, Kansas, church, Dr. Tiller was killed by an anti-abortion extremist. After Tiller is an essential watch to understand the emotional and misunderstood elements of the late-term abortion debate. Many people around them, including children that they already had, would suffer. Thirty-six years after FRONTLINE released 1983s Abortion Clinic, the documentarys producer returned to Pennsylvania to find a community more bitterly divided than ever. IE 11 is not supported. Roe v. Wade Appears Poised to Fall. 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. And how they are designed, to maintain the white-supremacist patriarchy, means that they will continue to harm and criminalize women, queer and trans and racially marginalized people no matter what the law says. Enlarge this image. It chronicles the real-life story of a group of women who helped those seeking abortions in Chicago more than 50 years ago. They just left. Click here to download the complete press kit. Signatories in the letter list prior actions from the UN Human Rights Committee's over abortion . Detailing the decades-long abortion debate, these docs give context to the historic Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Over the course of 16 months, beginning last July, the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth conducted a dozen hearings in Washington and several more in locations around the country, addressing a range of issues from education to housing, labor unions, small business support, infrastructure, social programs and tax policy. The 1960s, culturally, was rooted in the belief that we are the change we seek, and that radical societal change was possible. daniel@whatisessential.org How, despite "Roe v. Wade," anti-abortion advocates successfully led campaigns to pass multiple state laws limiting access to abortion with efforts in Miss. Tel : 617-923-1216 The abortion clinic is less than a mile from Texas, where abortion is illegal. DEL BARCO: The Janes say their clients included wives and girlfriends of police officers. WUCF-TV is now streaming The Committee for FREE on their website! An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. Since Planned Parenthoods decision to remove itself from Title X, the federal program that provides reproductive care for nearly 4 million low-income Americans, thousands of health care workers and administrators have been scrambling. We must care with compassion, and unlike in the male-dominated medical establishment, encourage collective care and knowledge. Anti-abortion protestors are getting ready to march on the Supreme . If you do not see your local station listed here, we urge you to contact them and ask them to air this film. How American Politics Reached This Fraught Moment: 12 Documentaries to Watch Ahead of the Midterms, How the Supreme Courts Conservative Majority Came to Be, Mass Shootings, a Supreme Court Ruling, Bipartisan Legislation: How America Reached This Moment on Guns, From the Archives: How the World's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Unfolded, Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, War Crimes Watch Ukraine: More Than 650 Documented Events, From the Archives: How the U.N. & World Failed Darfur Amid "the 21st Century's First Genocide". In private meetings across the country, many are asking the same question: what next? No women whom Jane served are known to have died from their abortions. And all of a sudden, they were gone. BOB GRAHAM Although some initially hesitated to appear on camera, all of them understood that these rights were slipping away and that these stories were relevant, said Tia Lessin, who co-directed the film with Emma Pildes. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. U.S. lawmakers began a wide-ranging two-year investigation into U.S. strategic competition with China Tuesday night, with testimony from Chinese human rights activists and former U.S. national . Debating an amendment on Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) graphically described what a partial-birth abortion is, and talk-radio host Mark Levin played the clip and commented that the media will never show Americans the procedure, adding that it is "Mengele-like" and that the Democrat Party fully supports such barbarism. "We've been telling you for the last 20 years, no one wants that! Access to postabortion contraception. When someone suggested Parker, Himes said, I was a little concerned initially that people would see it and say, What in the world is Carrie Bradshaw doing in this documentary? referring to her character in the long-running HBO series Sex and the City. But, he said, She does a wonderful job of telling her own story, and its a remarkable story.. January 28, 20223:00 PM ET. In a letter shared in advance with the Guardian and sent on Thursday by nearly 200 organizations and experts, the authors detail how, since the overturning of the federal constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, some 22 million women and girls of reproductive age live in states where abortion access is now either banned or inaccessible. Lie back and do as I tell you. The Fight For Women's Bodies Contains some upsetting scenes. THE ABORTION TALKS follows the crimes, trial, and murder of John Salviand the story of six women, all of them leaders in the pro-life and pro-choice movements, who sought to ensure that it would never happen again. Three of the Janes - Heather Booth, Judith Arcana and Marie Lerner - say they hope their story inspires others. The broadcast version of the film is significantly different from the film festival version, in that it highlights USFs role in bringing media attention to the Johns Committee, ultimately causing the committees downfall. FRONTLINE has been documenting the fight over abortion for several decades. DEL BARCO: Booth gathered an underground collective of women who called themselves Jane. Used by permission, Cover From Newsweek, June 6,1977, IBT MEDIA Some eventually began performing abortions themselves after the older man they previously relied on, who used the code name Dr. Anne Fowler (top row, left) is anEpiscopal priestand outspoken pro-choice advocate who served as theRector of St. John's Church in Jamaica Plain, MA, on the board of directors for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and on the board of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. We must help everyone no one was turned away for lack of funds. The film tracked abortion opponents actions: lobbying state legislatures, looking to see where courts drew the line on what constituted an undue burden, then seeking to incrementally restrict abortion access within those evolving parameters. 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. The fight for contraception, abortion rights, and bodily autonomy has always been hard-fought and tense, but in the last few years, it's become a life or death battle for many. Connecticut Gov. 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.. Anti-abortion activists have tapped into that sentiment in Virginia and elsewhere and are proposing changes to zoning laws to stop the clinics from moving in. 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. After her 1995 denouncement of Roe v. Wade, Jane Roe was seen as going to the other side. 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 . The development of medication abortion has vastly changed the landscape. FRONTLINE goes inside the fight over abortion, told through the stories of women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. Ultimately, just three were included. Released in 2018, Just after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, Reversing Roe examines how the abortion debate became more heated than ever before. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker narrates the piece, acknowledging briefly in the introduction that her own family faced financial difficulties during her childhood. The students, with backgrounds in English, accounting, journalism, computer engineering, art, and radio/TV production, were assigned into production teams where they would best be able to use their abilities. 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. Many former members told their stories publicly for the first time in The Janes, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. At the center of two separate symbolic victories for pro-choice and pro-life advocates, McCorvey makes a deathbed confession that she was paid by anti-abortion groups like Operation Rescue to speak out against abortion later in life. The documentary provides a somewhat chronological account of their work, ending with the public arrest of several of its members, the threat of long prison sentences, and the interventions of their attorney. Pervasive sexual assault by the men conducting abortions. 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. Legislation across the U.S. indicates that states are bracing for the potential of a post-Roe world. The film traces the committee's origins in the era of McCarthyism and anti-gay propaganda while detailing the personal stories of those intimately involved with its activities. Not all materials collected were included in the resulting new documentary about the Johns Committee. Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2013 Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, and Rep. Kevin Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, presented the . Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to intervene over the destruction of abortion rights in the US. RICHARD HARRISON 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 must be castigated on the world stage for its treatment of women, girls and others who can become pregnant the scale and intensity of human rights violations that the US is inflicting on its population are near unfathomable at this point, said Christine Ryan, legal director of the Global Justice Center, in a phone interview.