The Story of Jane (continued?)
I recently came across a website called Emergency Kindness and thought I'd share it with you as my post for today. The website explains,
Emergency Kindness is run by a team of "Janes" spread throughout the country. EC [Emergency Contraception] is hard to get in America due to the widespread practice of doctors and pharmacists refusing to give the pill because it conflicts with their personal beliefs. If you are having trouble procuring EC, we will do everything in our power to get it to you before your 72 hours are up.
On the website, visitors can get alert "Janes" that they're in need of assistance getting EC and/or can sign up to be a "Jane."
Akin to the underground abortion service that emerged pre-Roe v. Wade, this service allows women in need of EC to privately reach out for help. The legality of this strategy for increasing access to EC, however, is yet to be determined by me and by the creator herself. She writes in her blog,
I've been reading up on reproductive rights cases and law in general lately, trying to make sure we're in the clear here. I cannot find a precedent for anything of this kind. I don't think I can be charged with drug dealing per se, because technically I have not touched any of the Plan B (and the Janes would not count as anything more than accessories anyway), and besides which Plan B isn't something like cocaine. It's not an abused substance. If it can be proved that any of our clients were under 18, any charges against me would have be phrased as "distributing contraceptives to a minor." And I have no idea how a case like that might hold up in court.
Neither do I.
Julie in Philly
Emergency Kindness is run by a team of "Janes" spread throughout the country. EC [Emergency Contraception] is hard to get in America due to the widespread practice of doctors and pharmacists refusing to give the pill because it conflicts with their personal beliefs. If you are having trouble procuring EC, we will do everything in our power to get it to you before your 72 hours are up.
On the website, visitors can get alert "Janes" that they're in need of assistance getting EC and/or can sign up to be a "Jane."
Akin to the underground abortion service that emerged pre-Roe v. Wade, this service allows women in need of EC to privately reach out for help. The legality of this strategy for increasing access to EC, however, is yet to be determined by me and by the creator herself. She writes in her blog,
I've been reading up on reproductive rights cases and law in general lately, trying to make sure we're in the clear here. I cannot find a precedent for anything of this kind. I don't think I can be charged with drug dealing per se, because technically I have not touched any of the Plan B (and the Janes would not count as anything more than accessories anyway), and besides which Plan B isn't something like cocaine. It's not an abused substance. If it can be proved that any of our clients were under 18, any charges against me would have be phrased as "distributing contraceptives to a minor." And I have no idea how a case like that might hold up in court.
Neither do I.
Julie in Philly
posted by ACLU of Pennsylvania at 10/25/2006 04:20:00 PM
1 Comments:
This gives me hope. Thank you for sharing it with us!
With the rise of more and more anti-abortion measures and the shifting of the SCOTUS, I've always said I would hope that people would be willing to take a chance and provide safe services for people the should have legal access to.
While this isn't nearly as severe as that might be someday, it's good to see people coming together to fill a need where there shouldn't be a gap.
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