SAFE Maine Hosts Diane Stevens & The Janes

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Midnight weekend screenings happen on Friday & Saturday nights (meaning arrive on Friday and/or Saturday night by 11:45pm for seating, the movie starts after midnight)!

Run Time: 140 min.

SAFE Maine hosts an evening with Diane Stevens & The Janes at The Gem.

5:00 to 6:00: Social Hour in the Gem Lobby. Meet Diane Stevens and members of SAFE Maine who will have a resource table available.

6:00: FREE Screening of the Film The Janes

7:45: Q & A with Diane Stevens and Abbie of SAFE Maine to follow.

Join us at The Gem on Friday, June 26th, to learn more about The Janes, (Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation), an underground feminist network in Chicago that provided nearly 11, 000 safe, affordable and illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973, prior to the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision.

Diane Stevens will share her story with us. Diane grew up in Chicago and at the age of 22 joined the Abortion Counseling Service and became a Jane. Diane helped women obtain abortions and was one of seven women arrested on May 3, 1972, after police raided an apartment where members were providing abortions. The group of 7 women were initially charged with conspiracy to commit abortion and faced up to 110 years in prison. Before their case could go to trial, the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide and their charges were dismissed.

Our host for the evening is SAFE Maine. SAFE stands for Safe Abortions for Everyone and is Maine’s only statewide abortion fund. They provide financial and logistical support to individuals traveling to, living in, or from Maine who need assistance paying for their abortion and associated costs, such as transportation, lodging, childcare, and lost wages. SAFE Maine works closely with clinics and hospitals in Maine as well as community-led organizations to ensure abortion seekers can access the care they need.

Abbie Strout-Bentes (she/her) is the Executive Director of Safe Abortions for Everyone (SAFE) Maine, a nonprofit fund that provides financial and logistical support to people seeking abortions in Maine. Before becoming SAFE Maine’s Executive Director, Abbie worked for over a decade at Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, where she supported abortion seekers as a clinical assistant, led the organization’s community engagement and advocacy efforts, and served on its leadership team. Abbie has spent the last 15 years learning from reproductive justice leaders and uses that framework to guide her leadership. When Abbie is not funding abortions, she is parenting, learning to throw pottery, watching the WNBA, or on an adventure with friends and family.

Abbie will introduce the film The Janes and lead a Q&A with Diane Stevens following the film.

This event is FREE, but donations to SAFE Maine will be welcome. Find out more about SAFE Maine HERE.

We will have a free screening of the documentary The Janes at 6:00pm. This film gives a timely look at a group of women who built an underground network for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions in 1970s Chicago.

Please join us for this special event!

SAFE Maine Hosts Diane Stevens & The Janes

Trailer