At a time when the Supreme Court is launching an assault on women with recent and, it is feared upcoming rulings about abortion, the Sundance festival world-premiered not one but two films (three, when you include Happening, the story of a woman getting an abortion in France in the 1960s) about the fight for these rights a whopping 50 years ago.

There is another Chicago 7. Like their more famous male counterparts (Bobby Seale, Tom Hayden, Abby Hoffman, among others) these leaders were activists. They were seven, the women who formed an underground network to provide safe, and affordable abortions when the procedure was considered illegal under the law. They worked using blindfolds to go to and from the safe houses on Chicago’s South Side where their help was most needed. They operated under the code name ‘Jane.’ That word became synonymous with helping women in need at a time when a staggering number died from kitchen-table abortions and self-inflicted injuries out of desperation and lack of medical care.

Fittingly, the documentary The Janes premiered on January 22. The date marks the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. The doc tells the historical facts through interviews with the women who made up the Jane Collective, with Emma Booth, Judith Arcana, and Marie Leaner among them. Co-director/producer Emma Pildes recounts: “I grew up in Chicago and have a family connection to this story. My brother took a look around when Trump got into office and said, “We might be in trouble here.” The Janes were seeing and feeling the same thing.” Adds Judith Arcana: “We are now on the brink of terribleness in a big way because of the people on the Supreme Court and their attitude.” And a similar sentiment comes from an impassioned Heather Booth: “We are on a knife’s edge, choosing which direction we go as a country. Do we go forward to full inclusion of women, for civil rights, for democracy? Or do we go backward towards autocracy, demagoguery, lack of science?”

These are the questions that propelled the actors in Phyllis Nagy’s (she is also the screenwriter of Carol) feature Call Jane. Even though the characters are very strongly based on the real women, all names have been changed. The film centers around Joy, a suburban housewife with a heart condition. Her husband, a lawyer, seeks to assist her in obtaining an abortion because having a second child would very likely cause his wife to die. After trying all legal means and being turned down and mocked by old misogynist men, Joy finds the Janes.

Elizabeth Banks, who stars as Joy, was instantly compelled to tell this story: “First of all, it is urgent. I love working on historical things that have relevance in today’s world. This obviously does, and did. I love making art that honors those who came before us and on whose shoulders we’re standing as female artists. These were change-makers in their day, the Janes. Look at the activist that Sigourney’s character represents. I mean, these are women without whom I wouldn’t have had the freedoms that I enjoyed my entire life.”

Golden Globe winner Sigourney Weaver plays Virginia, the founder of the collective echoes the fears of the real-life activists and reminds us of the very different bi-partisan decision of 1973: “When Roe versus Wade was passed, three of the judges who passed it were Nixon’s conservative judges. But they understood that the right of a woman to decide for herself whether to bear a child was fundamental to her dignity and to her person, to her freedom, and her health. So, it just was such a wake-up call to me what I read. It’s an issue that has been politicized. Having lived through that time, believe me, we do not want to go back to that. So, I think it’s a question of like, the needle has gone across the record. We need to just remind people that there’s another life at stake that’s walking and breathing and trying to make the best decisions she can. It’s important to respect these choices. You may not agree with them personally. That’s your choice. It’s about pro-choice. So, I hope that we can engage the younger generation. They always had this and may have taken it for granted.”

Wunmi Mosaku plays Gwen, a character based on activist Marie Leaner: “I guess the thing that struck me when I read the film was this: making abortion illegal isn’t going to stop abortions happening. What we’re going to do is make people very vulnerable. You’re just making it not safe. If someone wants an abortion, they will get it. Why take away their dignity, their safety, by making it illegal? It’s still going to happen. So, I just really want people to know that, and understand that, and have empathy, and think of that person who is doing something that they don’t want… No one wants to be in this situation. If you’re considering an abortion, this is not like “I want to do this.” It’s not easy. Give them grace by leaving them alone and letting them do it safely. That’s what I really hope people feel because it’s not going to stop. It’s just going to become dangerous again.”

The Jane Collective was raided by police in 1972 and all seven women were indicted. With the help of an extraordinary female lawyer, who kept delaying until Roe vs. Wade passed barely a year later, they were all acquitted.

Both films raised immense interest among festival viewers precisely because they are so timely. Many women and men cannot believe that half a century after the fight for abortion finally led to a groundbreaking ruling, here we are again. It remains to be seen if Roe vs. Wade will celebrate its 50^th anniversary next year or whether women’s rights are being thrown back to the dark ages.