Chicago Janes on stage and screen

• Called "Jane: Abortion and the Underground," the documentary-style play is based on interviews with the women who almost went to jail for running the network from 1969 to 1972.

The inspiration: Kamen first learned about the Janes in 1992 and was astounded by how little had been written about them.

• "It was unbelievable that these 'hippie housewives,' University of Chicago grad students, and anti-war activists from Hyde Park could successfully run an underground abortion service out of their apartments," she tells Axios.

Her hopes: The play reminds people that:

• "Abortion continues even when it's illegal."
• "Elections for state Supreme Court judges, like Illinois' in November, are important."
• "Poor women are affected more severely when abortion is criminalized."

If you go: The "Jane" script gets a staged reading by the Violet Surprise Theatre Co. tomorrow at 7pm at the Berger Park Coach House Theatre.

• It's a fundraiser for Midwest Access Coalition, which hosts a panel after the show.