Voices for Choice to be host of discussion after March 2 showing of ‘The Janes’ at Quincy Public Library

QUINCY — Voices for Choice has scheduled a showing of the HBO documentary “The Janes” from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at the Quincy Public Library. The movie is two hours in length and will be followed by an hour of conversation/Q&A with the some of the original Janes.

Registration for this free event can be completed at https://www.mobilize.us/personalpac/event/601679/.

Seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged when police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago in the spring of 1972. Using code names, fronts and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves “Jane.”

The movie, directed by Oscar-nominee Tia Lessin (HBO’s “Trouble the Water”) and Emmy-nominee Emma Pildes (HBO’s “Jane Fonda in Five Acts”), offers first-hand accounts from the women at the center of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time.

“The Janes” tells the story of a group of unlikely outlaws. Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, the members of Jane risked their personal and professional lives to help women in need. In the pre-Roe v. Wade era –– a time when abortion was a crime in most states and even circulating information about abortion was a felony in Illinois –– the Janes provided low-cost and free abortions to an estimated 11,000 women.

This event is hosted by Voices for Choice and sponsored by Personal PAC. Voices for Choice is working to maintain, protect and ensure human rights to control our own bodies and healthcare choices. The group is primarily focused on the northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois areas.