Jane Hodgson (1915-2006) was a doctor who fought fiercely for abortion rights. In 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade, she became the first doctor arrested for performing an illegal abortion in a hospital. She did so intentionally, to challenge–and change–her state’s law.
Jane Hodgson (1915-2006) was a doctor who fought fiercely for abortion rights. In 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade, she became the first doctor arrested for performing an illegal abortion in a hospital. She did so intentionally, to challenge–and change–her state’s law.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about women who’ve made important contributions to the world of health and wellness.
Today’s doctor fought fiercely for abortion rights. In 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade, she became the first doctor arrested for performing an illegal abortion in a hospital. She did so intentionally, to challenge – and change – her state’s law.
Let’s talk about Dr. Jane Hodgson.
Jane Hodgson was born in Minnesota, in 1915. Her father was a country doctor. These kinds of physicians work in rural areas, serving communities who may not have access to a hospital system. When her father made his rounds, Jane often came along.
In 1947, Jane began her own practice, also in Minnesota. She saw an overwhelming trend: Patients with little control over their own reproductive lives. Women who were unable to conceive, as well as women shouldered with unwanted pregnancies. She had patients beg her for abortions – which she refused to give – and often treated women suffering from the aftermath of illegal procedures. In 1952, she became a founding fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Jane spent the early 1960s traveling around the world on the Project Hope ship, which brought healthcare workers to areas in need.
From those experiences, Jane realized that, “A woman's place in society was directly related to the availability of abortion services, contraception, and family planning services. In countries where it was all illegal, women were much worse off as far as their overall rights, health care, and poverty levels."
By 1970, abortion rights had become a hot button issue in the U.S. And that year, Jane encountered a patient who would ultimately change her life.
The patient was a 23-year-old, married, mother of three. Very early in her fourth pregnancy, she got rubella, or German measles. She was physically okay, but rubella, especially if contracted in the first trimester, often causes severe birth defects. The mother wanted an abortion. But the hospital abortion committee denied her request. Her life, they said, wasn’t in danger.
Jane was determined to help her increasingly desperate patient. She petitioned to have the Minnesota statute that made abortion illegal declared unconstitutional. But the petition stalled out. After 12 weeks with no ruling, Jane decided to do things her own way.
On April 29, 1970, Jane performed an illegal abortion at a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was soon arrested, and became the first doctor convicted of performing an illegal abortion within a hospital. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a year of probation.
Three year later, after the passage of Roe v. Wade, her sentence was overturned.
Jane’s testimony would become a key piece of abortion rights advocacy.
It was instrumental in Canada’s legalization of abortion in 1988. And in 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision supporting Jane and her position.
After her trial, Jane… kept working.
Beginning in 1972, She served as the medical director for the Preterm Clinic in Washington D.C. for two years. She went on many more tours for Project Hope, helping women across the world access family planning tools. And as a proponent of moving abortions outside the hospital operating room, she established a number of freestanding clinics, allowing patients to get safe, outpatient abortions.
Even well into her 70s, Jane would make a weekly, 150 mile trip to an abortion clinic she helped establish in Duluth, Minnesota, in order to provide care.
“I think in many ways I’ve been lucky to have been part of this,” Jane later wrote. “If I hadn’t gotten involved, I would have gone through life probably being perfectly satisfied to go to the medical society parties and it would have been very, very dull. I would have been bored silly.”
Jane died in 2006. She was 91 years old.
All month, we’re honoring women who changed the landscape of health and wellness.
For more information and pictures of some of the work we’re talking about, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!