'The original members of the group realized pretty quickly that if they were sending women off someplace and saying, you know, the best they could say is everybody's come back alive, that that wasn't doing much of a service. And that's how we who were in the service, as we referred to it, that's how we started. Preparing women for the abortion, you know, in terms of what to expect, helping women come up with the money and then following up with the women afterwards. But there was no way for an average woman to know what you were going to encounter. So groups of women in various places decided well, they would figure out who were the good providers in their areas, the competent people because some of the abortion providers were very good. And we'd seen the pictures of the crumpled bodies in alleyways. 'None of us were doctors, and every once in a while, a woman had an illegal abortion and she died from it. On how the Jane group started and evolved 'The basis I go back to is do you respect women and the choices that women feel they have to make? And if you don't respect women, then you can make any laws you want to, but it won't stop people from doing what they feel they have to do.' Interview Highlights 'I mean, I got involved in the group because a friend of mine's IUD failed. But Kaplan says regardless of whether they are on birth control or not, women still have unwanted pregnancies. Many critics of abortion say that the procedure shouldn’t be needed anymore because birth control is legal. “And I've been thinking lately that some of this is really backlash also for the growing strength of women's voices in our culture.' 'I am 50 years older than I was back then, and to have to go through this all over again is very disconcerting and shows, I think, around the country a real lack of respect for women and the decisions women make,” Kaplan says. She tells Here & Now’s Robin Young that it’s 'depressing' to watch states pass laws restricting the procedure. She was a member of the Chicago group, Jane, also know as The Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, which provided abortions to women illegally. Laura Kaplan remembers a time before abortion was legal. This was the 1973 decision that legalized abortion across the country. Find that audio here.Ī number of states have passed laws this year restricting access to abortion, raising concerns among activists that the debate could reach the Supreme Court and possibly lead to the overturning of Roe v. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) This article is more than 3 years old.Įditor's note: This segment was rebroadcast on Jan. Wade at a rally, held by Planned Parenthood, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision at the Capitol Monday, Jan.

The story of jane laura kaplan