Call Jane is based on the true story of a network of activists who helped provide underground abortions in 1960 and 70s Chicago. These activists called themselves "Jane," or "the Jane collective." People seeking abortions were told to "call Jane." That said, the characters in Call Jane are not based on specific people.
Elisabeth Moss and Susan Sarandon were attached to an earlier iteration of the film, with Sian Heder attached to direct.
The Jane Collective or Jane, officially known as the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, was an underground service in Chicago, Illinois affiliated with the Chicago Women's Liberation Union that operated from 1969 to 1973, a time when abortion was illegal in most of the United States.
Director Phyllis Nagy and actors Cory Michael Smith and John Magaro previously worked together on Carol (2015), for which Nagy wrote the screenplay.
The film was shot in Hartford and West Hartford, Connecticut in May and June 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.