Sakinah felt at home with the Black Panthers, volunteering at a church that hosted the Panther breakfasts. She saw Jane as another opportunity to do something radical, specifically for Black women, even though it meant organizing with all white women. “Men have always been at the forefront, no matter if you’re Black, white, or whatever,” she said when we asked how she went from Black militancy to organizing with white women. “What I saw was women in power. Women taking chances…I’m talking about a chance that you might spend years in jail. This was way more than a felony…and I’m a risk-taker.”
Before anyone from Jane had a chance to call Sakinah back to volunteer, she called first, a month later: She was pregnant. She was in her 20s, attending college, mothering three kids, and contemplating divorce. “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought, ‘Oh, shit.’ I was happy that I knew about Jane, but I was sad at the same time. But it gave me an option.” She decided to make an appointment for herself.
Once again, Sakinah took the L train to The Front, did her intake, and rode in the car with a Jane member to The Place for her procedure. She was only slightly nervous, because her friend had already told her what to expect and because the Jane in the car was so kind. “There was a sense of companionship and sincerity,” she explained. Yet, when the Jane who was providing the abortion examined her, she found that Sakinah was more than 12 weeks, so the usual dilation and curettage procedure couldn’t be used; it was too late. All the Jane could do was induce an abortion by breaking the amniotic sac, after which it might take a day or two for the pregnancy to pass.
Sakinah had to wait until all of the other women had their procedures before she could go back to The Front—and it was then that her curiosity was piqued. “Do you mind if I sit in on one of these procedures?” she asked. The Jane who was providing the abortions didn’t have a problem with Sakinah sitting in, as long as it was OK with the counselees. “I ended up holding legs and talking to the women, hand-holding,” Sakinah told us, her voice cracking with emotion.
Barely two days later, she passed the pregnancy, completing the abortion at home by herself. “After that, I called Jane back and said, ‘I’m ready. What is the initiation?’”