Norma McCorvey
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Norma Leah McCorvey (née Nelson born September 22, 1947, in Simmesport, Louisiana) is best known as the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade lawsuit in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is a Constitutional right, overturning individual states' laws against abortion. Years later she recanted her support of abortion rights.¹

Background

The Roe vs. Wade case took three years of trials to reach the United States Supreme Court. In the meantime, McCorvey had not aborted, but had given birth to the baby in question. In the case, she claimed that her pregnancy was the result of rape. She now claims that to have been untrue.²

In the 1980s, McCorvey revealed herself to be the "Jane Roe" of the famous case, and that she had been the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff with whom they could challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.³

In her 1994 autobiography, I Am Roe (her first book), she wrote of her sexuality. For many years she had lived quietly in Dallas, Texas, with her long-time partner, Connie Gonzales. "We're not like other lesbians, going to bars," she said in a New York Times interview. "We're lesbians by ourselves. We're homers."

Conversion

At a signing of I Am Roe, in 1994, McCorvey was befriended by pro-life activist Flip Benham.^{citation needed} Within a year, McCorvey converted to Christianity. She was baptized on August 8, 1995, by Benham in a Dallas backyard swimming pool, which event was filmed for national television. Two days later she announced that she had become an advocate of the pro-life movement (specifically, "Operation Rescue"), campaigning to make abortion illegal.

She wrote in her book, Won by Love,

"I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. "Norma," I said to myself, "They're right." I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth--that's a baby!"

I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about "products of conception." It wasn't about "missed periods." It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion–at any point–was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear."⁴

In 1998, she released a statement that affirmed her entrance into the Roman Catholic Church, and she has been confirmed into the church as a full member.⁵ She has also stated that she is no longer a lesbian.⁶ On August 17, 1998 She was received into the Catholic Church by Fr. Frank Pavone, the International Director of Priests for Life and Fr. Edward Robinson in Dallas, TX.

In 2005, in McCorvey v. Hill, she petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision, arguing that the case should be heard again in light of evidence^{citation needed} that the procedure harms women, but that petition was denied.

Despite asking for an abortion in her original suit, McCorvey never had the procedure. She gave birth to a girl, who was placed for adoption. As is common in contested (and sometimes uncontested) cases, the court decision took longer than the nine-month pregnancy.

On January 22, 2008, McCorvey endorsed Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. McCorvey stated, "I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn."⁷

TV movie

• Roe v. Wade at the Internet Movie Database

Books

• I Am Roe (1994) ISBN 0-06-017010-7 ISBN 0-06-092638-4
• Won by Love (1998) ISBN 0-7852-7237-2 ISBN 0-7567-7332-6

References

External links

• Norma McCorvey at the Internet Movie Database
• Norma McCorvey's website: "Roe No More"
• CNN: 2003 article
• CNN: 1998 special article profiling Norma McCorvey
• GLTB site
• Father Frank Pavone interviews McCorvey