A story that must be told and addressed always. Shows how this crap still has to be fought. Bible thumpers don't know how to mind their business and keep their religion and politics to theirselves amongst their own believers. Church and state still.mingle on daily. Just stuck living in the past forever in make believe Bible land. This is a medical procedure that lies in the hands and choice of the women who CHOOSE this for themselves and their well being. It is Not the business of the holier than thou hypocrite sinners who complain at every turn and provide zero support to those they want to force into their ways. Not to mention do the same exact stuff in the dark undercover. Ok sorry im a little touchy about this subject.

I was very engrossed in watching Ask for Jane. Though I am of the same generation, aware and well read, I didn't know about the Janes. I wonder whether publicity about them ever reached the East Coast. I had to keep reminding myself that the film took place in the Midwest, thereby making the plight of women more of a struggle than in more progressive cities on both Coasts. Their location also explained the way the women looked, which puts a positive spin on it, rather than saying the director screwed up. Some of the outfits they wore and hair styles were not very realistic. In fact, one was downright distracting: one of the main characters, Rose, had a dye job, in which the bottom three inches or her hair were reddish while the rest was dark brown. To my knowledge this type of hombre effect in hair coloring did not become a popular style until after the Millennium.

But hair and clothes aside, the film is powerful in its portrayal of dedicated young women who felt strongly enough about helping women, including themselves, to risk being arrested and convicted of a crime. Ultimately the film is about the oppression of women, and how the right to control one's own body, and even to know and understand one's body, had always been in the hands of men.

The film was strong in showing how in most situations, the women were always expected to defer to men, whether their husbands, fathers, doctors or clergy. Despite coming from relatively conservative backgrounds, the women portrayed, the Janes as they were known, were brave, noble and revolutionary. I hope they got (or get) at least some of the recognition they deserved.

I first saw this film at the Athens Film Fest in NY this spring in a packed theatre where it was enthusiastically received. The praise was well deserved. The history of the Jane Collective in Chicago in the late 60s was both enlightening- I had never heard of it- and unfortunately timely (although the film was produced before the SCOTUS threat to Roe v. Wade was quite as pronounced). Everyone should see this film - it is a solid reminder of the actual dangers and fear that women faced before pro-choice legislation, which is rarely showcased.

As several reviewers pointed out, the small budget limited the cinematography to mainly right/small shots- but rather than this being a distraction, I found that this created a more intimate relationship with the characters- much like a play. The story was- and should be- the focus here, and it is an important one.