Tia Lessen & Emma Pildes' THE JANES is a straightforward yet relevant and well-made Documentary about a group of Chicago women who banded together to facilitate reproductive rights to women when abortion was still illegal in the late 60s and early 70s. They were, for the most part, ordinary women who, fueled by the equal rights movement, wanted to provide options to ALL females regardless of race, age or financial situation.
Because the operation was so clandestine, it's no surprise that there is little actual footage of The Janes from the time period. There are some photographs and later interviews, but, most of what see outside the present day talking heads is stock footage of the time period. Still, the interviews with some of the surviving Janes, who along with their chief 'Doctor', mainly still use pseudonyms, are smartly presented and illuminating.
