Before 'Roe v. Wade,' The Women of 'Jane' Provided Abortions For The Women Of Chicago.
"Jane" was an underground network in Chicago that counseled and helped women who wanted to have abortions.
The service was launched in 1965 by Heather Booth, then a 19-year-old student at the University of Chicago.
She was motivated to join Jane because she felt women who wanted an abortion deserved to have a safe and inexpensive option.
After antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, the number of women dying from illegal abortions dropped dramatically.
However, every year, thousands of women continued to be admitted to hospitals nationwide for complications of illegal abortions.
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