‘The Janes’ Creators To Speak at CCSU Luncheon for Women’s History Month

With women’s reproductive rights under attack at the United States Supreme Court and across the nation, CCSU is to host a luncheon for Women’s History Month featuring Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, creators of the award-winning documentary, “The Janes.”

“In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged,” the film’s HBO website says, going on to say that the film,

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.

“The Janes,” the website says, “offers first-hand accounts from the women at the center of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time.”

CCSU says that its, “President Zulma R. Toro will attend the luncheon and greet attendees,” adding that, “The Women’s History Month luncheon is sponsored by the Central Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies and the Department of Communication.”

The event is to be Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 12:00pm in CCSU’s Memorial Hall. “The lunch will take place in the Constitution Room in Memorial Hall on the Central campus. Parking will be available at the Student Center lot and Welte garage,” CCSU says.