01/24/22 01/24/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> you don'have to imagine what it looks like whethe court overturns roe v. wade, th film shows you. amy: saturday marked the 49th anniversary of roe v. wade, the landlocked supreme court decision which legalized abortions nationwide. many fear the supreme court

could overturn the decision this year. we will look at the new documentary "the janes" about a collective of women in chicago who built an underground service for women seeking an abortion before roe. we will speak to the filmmakers as well as heather booth, who helped found janes when she was a collegstudent in chicago. >> we created a clective called the janes and beten 1965 and 1973, the women of janes themselves learned how and performed over 11,000 abortions. amy: plus, we go to the pacific island nation of tonga as aid flights continue to arrive after a massive underwater volcano exploded, blanketing tonga in ash and triggering tsunami waves. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a british judge has ruled wikileaks founder julian assange can appeal a december court decision to extradite him to the u.s. assange faces espionage charges and up to 175 years in prison for publishing evidence of u.s. war crimes in iraq and afghanistan. his fiancée stella morse just spoke in front of the courthouse. >> that we had raised points of law of general public importance and that the supreme court has stood ground to hear this appeal . the situation now is the supreme court has to decide whether it will hear the appeal. but make no mistake, we won today in court.

amy: julian assange's lawyers and advocates have warned his mental and physical health have been steadily deteriorating, and a lower court judge last year ruled assange should not be extradited as he posed a possible suicide risk if locked up in the united states. in pandemic news, u.s. health officials say they are cautiously optimistic the omicron-fueled surge would soon pass its peak, though many hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with patnts and the country is still averaging over 2000 deaths per day. in legal news, a federal judge on friday blocked the biden administration's vaccine mandate for federal workers and contractors. the justice department has appealed the ruling, which could end up at the supreme court. the white house says about 98% of government workers have already been vaccinated. the u.s. state department is reducing non-essential personnel at its embassy and ukraine and has ordered family members of diplomats to leave, citing a threat of russian military action. president biden is reportedly

now weighing the possibility of sending some up to 5000 u.s. troops to the region and deploying warships and aircraft to nato allies. nato member said they have put forces on standby. the u.s. also sent a new delivery of military equipment to ukraine. this comes after talks between secretary of state antony blinken and his counterpart russian foreign minister sergei lavrov friday failed to make any breakthroughs on the escalating tensions at the russia-ukraine border, where some 100,000 russian troops have been massed. blinken is joining a meeting of european union foreign ministers today over the crisis. in yemen, scores of people are dead after the u.s. deported launched aerial assault. one attack described prison in northern yemen near the saudi border with reports of 82 killed and dozens more trapped under

the rubble. among the dead are african migrants who had been detained while attempting to cross yemen to seek work in saudi arabia. u.n. secretary-general condemned the bombings and called for an investigation as did families of prisoners who visited the site. >> we came from a visit to find out the ison has bn hit by warplanes. this is a crime to be added to their crimes and this makes us more determined to face their aggression. we want concern bodies to investigate this most amy: another saudi led polish and airstrike on friday separate internet service across all of yemen stuck elsewhere, the united arab emirates has thwarted an attack intercepting two ballistic missiles fired at abu dhabi houthi drones and missiles killed three civilians. in northeastern syria, more than 150 people have been killed

after islamic state fighters launched a coordinated assault on a prison, aiming to free men and boys held captive by a u.s.-backed syrian kurdish militia. the attack prompted the u.s. military to call in airstrikes from helicopter gunships. the prison remains under siege, with kurdish fighters claiming the islamic state is using hundreds of boys as human shields. nearly 700 children of alleged islamic state fighters have been held at the prison by a u.s.-backed kurdish militia. they are known as the syrian democratic forces. last year, a united nations report found conditions inside the jail amounted to torture, with prisoners packed into overcrowded cells and denied sunlight, medical care, and proper nutrition. in afghanistan, at least seven people were killed after a bomb went off on a bus in the western city of herat saturday. taliban leaders are holding three-day talks in oslo with afghan civil society representatives and officials from the u.s. and european nations. the parties are expected to

discuss women's rights, as well as access to billions of dollars in frozen assets and aid money. the u.n. warns is leading afghanistan to an even worse humanitarian disaster, with some 23 million afghans are facing extreme hunger and nearly 9 million at risk of famine. in burkina faso, president roch kaboré has reportedly been detained by mutinous soldiers in an apparent coup. gunfire erupted sunday at military bases in the capital as soldiers revolted, angered by his government's failure to stop the years long wave of attacks by islamic extremists. more than 2000 people have died in the violence, hundreds of protesters also took to the streets of the capital sunday demanding his resignation. in sudan, prominent women's rights advocate amira osman was detained after over a dozen armed men raided her home late

in the capital khartoum. saturday this is osman's sister, amari. >> they stormed to the door and came into the house. there were so many of them. around 15 men in another outside carrying guns. amy: osman and other women's rights advocates played a crucial role in the uprising that led to the overthrow of former president omar al-bashir in 2019. dozens of other high profile political figures have been arrested since october 25, when sudan's military took control of the government in a coup. the palestinian authority is calling for an international commission to investigate a massacre committed by israeli forces in the palestinian village of tantura in 1948. this comes after last week the israeli newspaper haaretz revealed there's a mass grave under the parking lot of the now-popular dor beach of over 200 palestinians executed by zinonist gangs in tantura. marked the beginning of the 1948 violent israeli occupation of palestine, known as the

nakba. the chair of the house committee investigating the u.s. capitol insurrection has revealed the committee has been speaking former trump attorney general william barr. congress member bennie thompson shared the information in response to a question about the draft of an executive order, released by politico, that was presented to trump in december of 2020. the order would have directed secretary of defense seize voting machines in battleground states, among other things. in related news, the justice department charged a man friday with publicly calling for the killing of georgia election officials one day before the january 6 capitol insurrection. chad christopher stark of texas called on georgia patriots to "put a bullet" in one official. stark is the first person to be charged under the justice department's election threats task force, which was created last june. the arizona democratic party censured senator kyrsten sinema saturday for voting against a rules change that would have allowed democrats to bypass a

republican filibuster and pass major voting rights legislation. in a statement, chair of the arizona democratic party raquel terán said -- "in the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting arizonans' right to vote, we choose the latter. the ramifications of failing to pass federal legislation that protects their right to vote are too large and far-reaching." in mississippi, every single black state senator stood up and walked out as the republican-led senate passed a bill which would ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. this is senator barbara blackmon speaking ahead of the walkout. >> this bill is not morally right. i heard the gentleman say he tucked his african-american friend and i guess everyone has

an african-american friend. there are 14 black senators and this presents an these 14 black senators, i am telling you, that this will is morally wrong. amy: the bill passed 32-2, with the two votes against the bill cast by white democratic senators. the biden administration ordered federal agencies to enact the new $15-an-hour minimum wage for federal workers by the end of the month. the change will effect nearly 70,000 workers. biden signed an executive order raising the federal minimum wage and contractors last april. here in new york city, new legislation granting protections goes into effect today. the new laws were pushed by the labor group los deliveristas unidos and essential workers who kept the city running throughout the pandemic.

they include a fair minimum wage, tip transparency, and access to bathrooms. workers say they will continue to push for more protections. this is councilmember carlina rivera, one of the sponsors of the bill, speaking at a celebratory rally sunday in times square. >> just a reminder of what go through. remember, waist deep sludge water to bring you your hot waters, your neighbors medicine. violent attacks and even death. name of them are not here to celebrate this moment with us, so this is our obligation. it is policymaking with the foundation of immigrant environmental, gender justice. amy: in california, firefighters have contained about a third of a 1000 acre wildfire near the

coastal communities of monterey and big sur. hundreds of residents were evacuated over the weekend. fires are extremely rare in california during this time of the year but the climate crisis and a two-decade drought have led to extended wildfire seasons. and the world-renowned buddhist monk, poet, teacher, and anti-war activist thich nhat hanh has died in his native vietnam at the age of 95. thich nhat hanh was exiled from vietnam for decades beginning in the 1960's after he spoke out publicly against the war. in 1966, he traveled to the united states and met with dr. martin luther king, jr., helping to persuade king to speak out against the u.s. war on vietnam. king went on to nominate thich nhat hanh for a nobel peace prize a year later, calling him an "apostle of peace and nonviolence." thich nhat hanh believed that buddhist principles should be applied to everyday life and even to solve difficult

political problems. this is a clip of an address he gave in berkeley, california, in the 1980's. >> the capacity to be aware of what is happening in the present moment. if you eat mindfully, drink mindfully, if we do things i'm fully -- mindfully under the light of mindfulness, we know what to do in order to bring faith and joy to our body. we know what not to ingest in order to prevent the toxins, the poisons to enter our bodies and our consciousness. amy: and those are so of the headlines.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. humanitarian aid flights are continuing to arrive in the pacific island of tonga after a massive undersea volcanic eruption blanketed the south pacific island nation with ash, destroyed homes, and triggered huge tsunami waves. at least three people died after the january 15 blast. shockwaves from the eruption were felt around the world. scientists at nasa say the blast was hundreds of times stronger than the u.s. atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima in 1945. tonga is made up of about 170 islands. it is located about 2000 miles east of australia. communication is still cut off for some of the 36 islands where people live. an undersea telecommunications cable connecting tonga to the rest of the world was also severed by the blast. the island nation is now in dire need of food and clean water. this is drew havea, vice

president of the tonga red cross. >> people are still suggling to clean their homes, struggling to lean the roof of their houses. everybody is affected by the ash. amy: we go now to the capitol of tonga, the city of nuku'alofa, where we are joined by marian kupu, a reporter for broadcom broadcasting. we are so relieved to be able to speak with you. can you describe what took place? describe the extent of the volcano. >> thank you. i don't know how i can describe or compare what we experienced what we have seen, what we felt on the 15th of january.

it was very -- it was a very new experience, a very scary experience that i will never forget. the panic, the confusion that the people had because we do not know what to do. during the explosion, during the tsunami, and after the tsunami with the rocks, the ashes, and the thunder, and also to learn some of the islands have been fully destroyed. amy: can you describe what happened to you and your family? describe january 15, what you are doing, what you heard and saw. >> we were at home as usual, saturd, a cleaning day for tongan people and a day for the tongan people to get ready for sunday becau sunday is is

church service and staying home. so basically, we were just at home getting everything ready and laying back. around after 5:00, that is when we first heard the first bang. the rst thing i can really recall where my ears ringing. everything else -- it is all i can remember was trying -- very much aware that it is the volcano. this last year, we have been eing clouds in that sky, just weird clouds coloring the sky. it would be pinkish. it was very new for us to

witness this. so i think it is a good ing that we ve had experience of -- that we know there is a volcano that is very active down on the west se of the main island. that is soon as the blast -- the firsblast went on, we knew exactly what to do and we knew there is a volcano. all we can think of is running away from the s becau my village is close to the main island and also close tthe shoreline of where the waves came. all we did was drive away from the shore. amy: describe the impact on the islands and what you even understand at this point, more than a week later, with the only internet line cut with the

volcano going off. >> thinking back, i'm not sure ift was wednesday or thursday, we experienced -- we woke up in the morning and smelled this smell that wasot a nice smell. i am not sure if it was wednesday or thursday morning. all of the country can smell it. we find throhout the day - we thought it came from the volcano. these are the things that we can now know. we treat the volcano now that it is active, right? if the smell comes today, definitely we will be ready for another volcanic eruption in two or three days to come. these are the signs we have

looked back and thought of it and it makes sense to what we have experienced. with a connection or the fiber cable is down because it is under the seabed, which has all the internet connections with is in tonga. however, here in nuku'alofa we were able to connect to the rest of the world. we were practically one of the private companies that started connecting first had to connect with the world besides -- because we were using our satellite. our satellite carrier company. that is how we were able. in the meantime, there is limited internet. we are working togher with the tongan corporation communication, which is called tcc --

amy: can you talk about the effect of the ash on the water supply? and what kind of international aid are you getting? what do you need? >> the whole country, and i mean the whole countryr island, is covered with ash from the hight building to the lowest, covered with ash. so all of our water tanks -- the majorityf our war takes in private homes, we gather our water from rainwater. that is our everyday drinking water, which is safe water. clear coming clean water. however, when -- came, it polluted our tanks. we are very fortunate to have aid coming. they're coming ashore.

water supply, and tense for temporary shelter for those who have lost their homes. amy: according to the imf, just two years ago, tonga is one of the world's most exposed countries to climate change and natural disasters suffer the highest loss from natural disasters in 2018, among the top five over the last decade. can you talk about volcanoes and climate change? >> every year in tonga, we are expecting a natural disaster. our most -- a hurricane season from january to march or even can extend. every year we are expecting a tropical cyclone. we have experienced tropical cyclones for years, and we have

overcome them. we are always prepared for hurricane season. tropical cyclones. we have never been prepared for a volcanic eruption. here in the mainland, we will hear stories -- the maiand is not en a volcanic island. the furthest island of ton from here is closer to samoa than here in the mainland. those two islands are the volcanic islands. we have heard stories coming from them from eruptions, but never heren the mainland. and this is something really new for us. amy: what about, finally, the issue of international aid and covid in this era of covid? >> we treat -- [indiscernible]

the way we treat when we have supplies from covid, which is we do not accepted or offload passengers, only cargo are allowed to come out from the planes and they are taken to a quarantine place for three days before we are allowed to use them or distribute them. thiss also apply to our ships coming in. there are floated and kept in a secure, designated place for three days in quarantine before an use them. weo not accept -- we still follow the covid -- we still have to be cautious because there is covid around in the world. i can brag that really have one

positive case here so far. but since the covid-19, we have never had a serious covid problem here. amy: in the last 30 seconds, marian kupu, as you speak to us from tonga, i think our first broadcast from tonga -- though we have interviewed people from tonga when it comes to the climate crisis -- what is your message to the world? >> i don't think this will be the last natural disaster that nga will be experiencing. year after year we will be having natural disasters. year after year, we will be expecting aid to come for us because we cannot control nature. but this is what we have to live for and live with and this is normal for us. amy: marian kupu is a reporter for broadcom broadcasting in the capital of tonga, nuku'alofa.

next up, saturday marked the 40 not anniversary of roe v. wade, the supreme court decision legalizing abortion. many questioned if the supreme court will strike down the landmark ruling before it turns 50. we will look at a new documentary at the sundance film festival called "the janes" about life before roe when a collective of women in chicago built an underground service for women seeking an abortion. could this be what post roe looks like as well? stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: tongan musicians halamangaono group. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

saturday marked the 49th anniversary of the landmark supreme court decision in roe v. wade that legalized abortions in the united states. willoughby overturned by this summer? as a supreme court signals its support for extreme restrictions . on friday, thousands of people joined the annual anti-choice march for life in washington, d.c., and celebrated a possible end to the constitutional right to abortion. there also counter protests during an overnight prayer vigil the religious groups thursday at the largest catholic church in the country, the abortion rights group catholics for choice projected pro-choice messages onto its side. looks the majory of catholics in the united stas who suort aboron rights and do not want to seeoe v. wade struck down.

one in four abortion patients in is country intifies cathol. we nd to sta listi to th. we nd to thi about tt huma tolf not hang access reproduive heal care. as people of faith, we need to be loud and bold and take bac the rrative om this right-wi chrtian nationalist antifeminist white supremacist movement. amy: whether roe v. wade will mark 50 years next year depends in part on a ruling expected this june from the supreme court in a case called dobbs v jac which challenges of mississippikson law. on thursday, though supreme court rejected another attempt by abortion rights advocates and providers to block texas' six-week abortion ban. more than half the country has laws in place to immediately ban abortion if the court overturns roe. for more of what life was like

before january 22, 1973 ruling in roe they gave americans the right to abortion, we're joined by three guests. tia lessin and emma pildes are directors of "the janes postcode that premieres tonight virtually the sundance phone festival and will air later this year on hbo. it tells the story of the jane collective which was formed in 1968 in chicago in a college student and civil rights activist named heather booth sought help finding a doctor to help a desperate friend who needed an abortion. heather booth also joins us now. this year, sundance is also featuring a dramatic film called "call jane" and also features a film called "happening" about a woman getting an abortion in france in the 1960's. three films at this year's film

festival on choice come on abortion. heather booth, let's begin with you. you are featured in "the janes" documentary. talk about how you ended up founding the jane collective. >> amy, thank you for allowing us to talk about what life is like both before roe and about what life could be like in the key lesson we have is that we need to take action now. we need to organize. and if we organize, we can change the world. but before r, i was involved in a civil rights vement. i went with the student nonviolent corning committee to mississippi in 1964 when studentsere connect -- recruited for the courageous struggle for bck people in mississippi for the right to vote. i learned three key lesns.

one, even in desperate times that when people come together and organize, we can change this world and civil rights movement. we won budding rights act, civil rights act you really have to act upon what is morally corre. you need to try to build a beloved communitywork with compassion and carinfor others . any third lesson is sometimes you have to stand up to illegitimate authority. it is that background and those lessons thatere i ink operating for me when a friend aske me could i find a doctor to perform an tion for his sister who was pregnant and nearly suicidal, was not ready to have a child. i found a doctor to the medical committee for human rights, the

medical arm of the civil rights movement. dr. hrm howard who himself had been a civil rights leader until his name appeared on a klan death list in mississippi and came to chicago. i made the connection between my friend and that doctor, really, just out of a wish to do a good deed and the golden rule, you want to treat others as you might want to be treated. i have never faced a situation of needing an abortion myself or wanting it. i did not really think much more about it until someone else called because word must have spread. and made the connection again. and then someone else called. and so i set up a system and look much morebout what was involved. and after a while, dr. howard was no longer available, i found someone else whosname was

mike. thcalls kept coming in. more more people were coming. i was involved -- i was in grant's glad that time, working full time, i was about thave my first child. out of a movement marriage that had had forver 50 years. amy: you are married to paul booth before he died. >> yes, he worked with the american federation municipal employees for over 43 years. he had been a student leader -- we met at a sit in against the war against vietnam. at that time, realized we need to bring more people intohis. i couldot sll manage the counseling of the women who are coming through on my own. i recruited other women. and trained them in a what i had learned about the procedure and how to support women who we

coming throu. over time, as more and more women were seeking this help on the st intimate decision people make in their lives about when or whether to have a child or how many children to have, at that point, the women found out that mike was not himself a doctor and they realize that if mike could do it, they could do it. so women of jane, whi is what we called this building collective, the women of jane ended up performing over 11,000 abortions between when i made that first contact in 15 and 1973 when roe bame the law of the land. tia lessin and emma pildes do an extraordinary job in documenting

this another remarkable move -- remarkable movie "the janes." amy: tia lessin, in this film withemma, you bring together how the movements come together, how the jane collective as heather was describing came out of these different movements, the antiwar movement, the civil rights movement, hrm howard, the doctor who was imprisoned several times for performing abortions at his clinic in chicago, and he himself had fled mississippi, targeted by the kkk. can you talk more about that? >> thank you, am yeah, i mean, chicago at that time was the epicenter. so much turmoil, so much organizing. it was the headquarters of the young lords come thblack panther party had an enormous chapter there. martin luther king came to the city in 1965, 1966 to wage the

freedom campaign. and there was also a burgeoning women's movement. in 1968, mayor daley's thugs beat down the protesters of the democratic national convention. out of this context came so many of the janes. heather, she described it, was a volunteer at freedom summer. the protests were so viciously assaulted by the white supremacists who lined the streets. marie leaner was a paralegal for bobby seals as part of the chicagdefense team. these women, forces of nature, members of jane. a minute, many more. they came out -- the limi movement could antiwar movement, the student movement, the civil rights movement, these were the

training grounds for these women. amy: emma pildes, you are so key to this documentary, side from co-directing it. you were the family connection to the janes. talk about judith or hannah. >> well, she is an incredible woman that did an incredibly brave thing, as they all did. like you said, i have this family connection to the film. my brother, a producer on the film, sort of looked around when trump got into office and it seemed like he would likely pack the courts and said, we in trouble. you know, i think part of the reason these women -- the family connection we had, but i think the real reason that they spoke

was because they were feeling the same way that we were feeling and they were seeing the same things that we were seeing and they were terrified. i feel like they were likely perhaps feeling called to duty, as were we. tia and i are film makers. that is the arrow we have in our quiver. we knew this was something that we could do, we could bring this story of organizing, of bravery, of taking care of your sisters and brothers and remind people that when things are feeling dire and you are feeling out of control and it feels like the country is not valuing women's

lives, that there are things you can do. jody in the film said so beautifully, they felt a need to disrespect the law that was disrespecting women. thats always an option. and these women were incredibly brave and inspiring. we feel lucky to have been able to make this film amy:. i want to go back to years in democracy and we interviewed alice fox, a former member of the underground abortion group jane. she talked about her own experience calling the abortion collective when she found out she was pregnant. >> at that time, there was no question any remaining pregnant. i was in a new relationship and abortion was already legal in new york, so i knew -- i had enough knowledge to know that that was an option for me. and it was clearly -- it was not a decision i had trouble making,

that i needed to have an abortion at that time. was fresh out of college myself. and interestingly -- and i'm not sure i remember my thinking around that time -- it didn't really occur to me to come to new york. i really was in an independent state of mind and felt i could take care of my own life, and saw an ad about "pregnant? call jane." and immediately, i felt confident, and from that initial interaction over the telephone -- amy: what did you say? you called up, said you were pregnant. and what did the person say? who was it? alice: i think it was a message. the first one was "please leave your name" and maybe the date of your last period. i don't remember what the actual information was that i left on that time. but i was called back pretty promptly. i don't recall being in a state of waiting very long. and i then met with a counselor

at that time, and she gave me all the information about what would happen. and i was in her home, with her young children running around. and i was -- i felt totally comfortable, confident, not frightened. you know, i hear the stories of the worry and the fear that what lay ahead was some nightmare. i don't recall feeling that for a moment. and i felt very proud of myself for taking care of myself. and -- amy: and what happened? what did she do in this home with her kids? alice: so she laid out to me exactly what would happen in the procedure, that i would be taken care of, that i would -- exactly all the steps that would happen, that i would be driven to a place, that i would be safe and taken care of, that someone would be by my side the whole time, and that the procedure -- she described the procedure itself, which at that time was a

d&c -- and that i would be -- i think i was taken with a group of women so that i wasn't by myself. there was a few women -- maybe laura can correct me, but that's my memory, that there were a few people each time that a procedure was scheduled. and she described the procedure in detail, which, again, was an incredibly -- i don't think i had ever been described a medical procedure before by someone saying, "this is exactly what's going to happen." and i was prepared. amy: so that is alice fox, former member of the underground group jane, and she's referring to laura kaplan, another member who wrote the book, the story of jane come the legendary --"the story of jane: the legendary underground feminist abortion service." the way, tia lessin, she talks about the procedure, heather just referred to mike, the so-called doctor. at least

people thought perhaps he was a doctor at the beginning, but tell us this character who you amazingly were able to speak to come and then we're going to talk about the arrest and you got one of the cops who arrested the women, like judith. >> lesn, yet to remember at that time in the 1960's, abortion was illegal in every state of thcountry except for hawaii. that changed 1970 when new york legalized abortion, but doctors or people performed abortions risked arrest, risked prosecution, risk jail sentences up to 10 years per count. it was not civil to rforming an abortion that was illegal. it was advertising, circulating formation about abortion. there were many doctors who were not willing to take this risk even in the privacy of their own

offices or clinics. those that did, many that did charged an exorbitant rate. frankly, women were subjected to all sorts of sexual exploitati, financial exploitation. they could not guarantee their own safety. countless women ended up in the morgue. when abortions are illegal, doesn't mean women don't get abortions, just means women have a really hard time finding safe, affordable abortions. amy: perhaps it means women still get abortions, but they die. >> that's right. they die.

th provider that heather found through doctor friends of hers was quite illed. he was born d raised in chicago. he was very adept at the procedure. he called himself dr. kaplan. i think the women assumed, rightly so, that he was a doctor and in fact he was not a trained medical professional, but he was trained by a surgeon. he was a very good g. he certainly was in it for financial gain, but the janes were able to negotiate, charm him, and also, you know, for up some volume. he discounted t produre grtly. so they were able to offer the

procedure, which cost at that time the equivalent of thousands dollars, for cut rates, save, affordable, and protected in some cases from police, until they weren't. amy: heather, the power of the realizing he was not a doctor, the women said, hey, then we can do this. the idea that there were 11,000 women who got the procedure and no one died, unlike the rest of the country. >> in fact, it was a study done after roe became law comparing how safe jane was compared to procedures that were done in established medical facilities. jane was even more effective than the official tablishment because jane was a

women-centered collective. it was not done r profit. it was as much e medical system is done now. it was done out of caring and concern and a moral commitment to women. and we should realize how common abortion is. one in four women now reproductive age will have an abortion. if you see one in four, 1, 2, 3, 4, one of them is likely have were selected and abortion in their lifetime. this is not rare. iteeds to be safe and legal and accessible. i want to go back to one thing that alice fox said on that clip you played. she said tt she did not think going to new york, so she found jane in chicago.

when in fact, people with means, people who were in middle-class or more secure situations or had family or other support, finall could go to new york, colado, hawaii or abroad to sweden and find a way to get an abortion legally. but people who were poor, people who did not have means, who did not have support, they had almost nothing to turn to. we are now facing that kind of situation where wom in texas at six weeks, not only would they be denied the ability to make this most intimate decision of their life, but is even worse than that. there is now kind of vigilante, bounty hunter rule in texas that says that a neighbor can report a neighbor and get up to $10,000

as a bounty if you report on someone who is actually trying to make an arrangement about getting or receiving an abortion. and so this disproportionately impacts people who are poor, who are -- have less health care options available to them, and don't have the kind of support that would let them have fuller life and full participation in the society. amy: emma pildes, i went to end with you and the arrest. what happened to the jane collective -- i mean, the arrest did not end it, but the women faced. heather was not among them at the time they got arrested. how many years in prison, accused of providing abortion or conspiracy to provide abortion? >> yes, so it was 11 counts each of abortion or conspiracy to

commit abortion with 10 years and the possibility of 10 years on every count. each of the seven women arrested that day were facing 110 years in jail. so that was terrifying. and a position they should never be put in. this should not be on their shoulders providing mical care, health care, basic health care for women in this country and then possibly be facing jail time. amy: explained what happened. the significance of what is threatened today. it is not that they went to trial and they were acquitted. >> yes, so, listen, in addition to this being an incredible story and timely story, it is just a great story. there's a lot of natural drama.

one of those moments is there was a bust. they got busted and they were waiting -- were waiting for trial but roe passed so they were exonerated. in the same moment that women across the country were freed, the janes were freed, but, you know, it is just heartache all around. the women have to line amy: on that note, we have to end but hurley encourage people to see -- i highly encourage people to see this when it comes out on hbo. tonight it premieres at the sundance film festival. tia lessin and emma pildes are the directors, heather booth is the founder of the janes. when we come back, we speak to

the fiancée of julian assange, british judge has ruled the wikileaks founder can appeal december court decision to extradite him to the u.s.. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. the biden administration's efforts to extradite julian assange were dealt a setback today when britain's high court ruled assange can appeal a narrow part of his case to the

british supreme court. assange faces espionage charges and up to 175 years in prison in the u.s. for publishing evidence of u.s. war crimes in iraq and afghanistan and spent over 1000 days locked up in the belmarsh high-security prison in london. before that, over seven years in the ecuadoran embassy in london where he had been granted political asylum. we're joined now by julian assange's fiancé stella moris. can you talk about the supreme court or the ruling by the court that just came down? >> the high court reversed an earlier decision by the lower court, which have blocked extradition to the united states on december 10, which is human rights day, the high court decided it would greenlight the u.s. extradition but we put in request for appeal and of the high court has recognized julian 's arguments raised by the

middle issues of fairness and is certified those points so that we can ask the supreme court to hear our appeal. it is not yet clear whether the supreme court will agree to hear the appeal. amy: so how does this work? >> well, the supreme court will now take potentially months to decide whether it will hear our argument. even if it does not hear our arguments, we still have the possibility to appeal all of the other issues, all of the other press freedom issues, the argument this is a politically driven, politically motivated prosecution, persecution that is using the court to further the political persecution against the publisher for doing his work, for having published evidence of u.s. crimes. amy: can you talk about julian's

physical and mental health? we have reports of this lower perhaps fast deterioration? >> julian has been in that u.k.'s harshest prison for over 1000 days, only at the behest of the u.s. government. he is now serving in a sentence in the u.k.. for every that p deteriorates f. in october on the first day extradition appeal, he suffered a mini stroke. we're very worried at at any moment he could suffer more catastrophic health emergency. mini strokes, as everyone knows, can be a precursor for a much worse health complication. julian has been deprived of his freedom,eprived of the outside world for over a decade. he was first arrested on december 7, 2010, just seven days after wikileaks started

publishing cable gate. he has not been a freeman since. his health, his physical health and mental health are obviously deteriorating because he is only a man. he is a fighter, a strong person, a strong-willed person who believes in the work that he has done and he is aware thiis a fight against the monumental injustice, but there's only so much a man can take. amy: stella, since we have spoken, you applied to be married, the two of you. the prison forbade that and then reversed their decision. today as you stood outside the new court ruling, you said "today we won but julian continues to suffer. julian must be freed." your final comment? >> julian, for every win we get, julian's situation doesn't seem

to change. this is punishment through process most of the biden administration should just stop this. we should not be taking it through the u.k. justice system because this is politicalmpdmioc