Last night I watched "The Janes" (2022 release; 101 min), and per the usual, it was my intent to write up a review the next morning, meaning today. While it had been rumored for months, little did I know that indeed the Supreme Court would officially overrule Roe v. Wade today (more on that later).
As to "The Janes", co-directed by Emma Pildes and Oscar-nominated Tia Lessin, we meet the brave women in Chicago who in the late 60s stood up for women's medical and reproductive rights, and seeing that desperate women would do desperate things, these "Janes" organized an underground network of abortion counselors and providers, at great personal risk. The film makers were able to interview so many of the original Janes all these years later, and their stories continue to resonate. The documentary contains plenty of terrific archive footage of what Chicago was like in the late 60s. All in all, this is well worth checking out, and of course the timing of its recent release could not be more on point for obvious reasons. "The Janes" is now streaming on HBO Max, and if you have any interest in gender equality issues, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
As to today's ruling by the Supreme Court, shame on all of them. American exceptionalism? More like America being the laughing stock of the Western world (the ONLY Western country where abortion rights are not guaranteed). Of course, I always tell people that any country gets the politicians they deserve. You elect a crook and a thug like Trump, and this is what it leads to, and sadly yet more such thuggery may be coming. Today is a very sad and dark day in this country's history, much like the January 6 insurrection and all that that entails. In 20-30-40 years from now, people will look back at this and say "what in the world were they thinking back then???".
