Judith Arcana worked with JANE, a group of women who did illegal abortions before Roe V. Wade. None of these women abortionists had medical degrees. JANE started out as a referral service, sending women to an illegal abortionist. When they found out that the abortionist they sent women to was not a doctor, they decided to do the abortions themselves. They were self-taught.
Judith Arcana says:
“Ultimately, we learned to do abortions in all three trimesters. Although we did only a handful in the third, as you may imagine, there were many in the second, no doubt because illegality forced women and girls to take so much time searching for abortionists and saving up money.”
Judith Arcana ““Feminist politics and abortion in the US,” Psychology and Reproductive Choice Visited 9/2/2017
