Health + Wellness: Jane Hodgson

Episode Summary

This episode of Womanica highlights Dr. Jane Hodgson, a doctor who advocated for abortion rights in the 1960s and 1970s. Jane grew up with a father who was a country doctor, which inspired her to become a doctor herself. In 1947, she opened her own medical practice in Minnesota where she noticed many patients had little control over their reproductive lives. Some wanted abortions, which Jane refused to provide at the time. In 1970, abortion was illegal in most of the United States. That year, Jane had a patient who was pregnant and contracted rubella, which often causes birth defects. The hospital refused to allow an abortion, so Jane decided to challenge the law. She performed an illegal abortion at the hospital and was arrested soon after, becoming the first doctor convicted for performing an illegal abortion in a hospital. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail. After Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, Jane's conviction was overturned. She went on to serve as medical director for a clinic providing abortions in Washington, D.C. and helped establish other clinics to provide safe outpatient abortions. Even into her 70s, Jane continued providing abortion care, making weekly 150-mile trips to a Minnesota clinic she helped open. Jane's testimony was influential in legalizing abortion in Canada and in a 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting her position. She dedicated her life to providing reproductive healthcare and abortion access to women across the world. Jane died in 2006 at age 91.

Episode Show Notes

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.

Episode Transcript

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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 joined him. 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, Jane 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 said she 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, healthcare, and poverty levels. By 1970, abortion rights had become a hot button issue in the US. 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, the mother 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 29th, 1970, Jane performed an illegal abortion at a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Soon thereafter, she was 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 years 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 free-standing 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 highlighting women who changed the landscape of health and wellness. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica Podcast. 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