Norma Leah McCorvey (née Nelson; September 22, 1947), better known by the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe", was the plaintiff in the landmark American lawsuit Roe v. Wade in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned individual states' laws against abortion by ruling them unconstitutional. Later, McCorvey's opinions on abortion changed, and she is now active in pro-life causes.
"Dr. Jasper didn't care if they got their checkups, their medications.""Father God, we just ask You to open Your wide, wide arms and look down upon us, Lord, and lead us, and let us know what we should do to stop this, this terrible, terrible holocaust.""I am serving the Lord and helping women save babies.""I didn't attend any of the court proceedings.""I don't hate them any more like I used to. I just don't like them very much.""I don't think there is a good reason for an abortion, but Dr. Jasper made me really realize it was just a racket. He was just doing it for the money. He didn't care about the women.""I felt like they only cared about what I could do for them, not what they could do for me.""I looked at a fetal development chart at the Operation Rescue Office in Dallas. I had a lot of emotions stirring up inside of me. That's when I decided that it was wrong in any stage of pregnancy.""I really didn't know there was two sides to the abortion issue.""I think everyone should sit down and write a book. It's a lot like therapy but a lot less expensive.""I used the name Jane Roe because I didn't want my personal name to be involved in it.""I was the Jane Roe of Roe vs. Wade, but Jane Roe has been laid to rest.""I'm the computer operator for Operation Rescue National.""I've got so much to do, I don't have time to sit down and be sad.""If they don't care about me, how can they possibly care about anyone else?""It doesn't make any difference what religion you are, or how young you are or how old you are-if they go to these abortion mills and stand there and pray-that would make a lot of difference.""It was a mutual thing. I made a deal with them: I asked them if they did not bring out the place card of Malachi, I would let them have two minutes with each one of my patients.""It's not your body, it's not your choice, because you got that from God. He gave that to you.""Patients would come in and say, Well, my baby is going to have a cleft palate. I'm going like, that's not a reason. And the doctor would do the abortion.""The abortionist I worked for, he's a very greedy man, a selfish man.""The holocaust against the unborn is the greatest sin they could ever do or even ever participate in.""There's a feminist writer, Naomi Wolfe, who is reconsidering her position on abortion.""They could have been nice to me instead of treating me like an idiot.""They tried to discredit me. I used to tell them, There's many wonderful people out there who can't have children, who would want to have these children.""We live in a society today where these children can be wanted children. Even if you don't want to keep this child after you've had it, there's plenty of young couples out there, that want children."
McCorvey was born in Simmesport, Louisiana, and raised in Houston, Texas as a Jehovah's Witness. McCorvey's father left the family before she was old enough to remember; her parents subsequently divorced and she was raised by her mother Mildred, a violent alcoholic. McCorvey's father died on September 27, 1995. She is of partial Cajun and Cherokee ancestry. She dropped out of high school at the age of 14. Two years later, she married Woody McCorvey, but claimed he was abusive towards her. Subsequently, McCorvey left him during the pregnancy with her first child, Melissa (born 1965). The following year, McCorvey again became pregnant, eventually giving birth to a baby that was placed for adoption. She then returned to live with her mother, who disowned her after her daughter confided that she was sexually attracted to women, and took custody of Melissa.
Roe v. Wade
In 1969, at the age of 21, while working low-paying jobs and living with her father, McCorvey became pregnant a third time. She returned to Dallas, where friends advised her to assert falsely that she had been raped, as she would then be eligible to obtain a legal abortion (with the understanding that Texas's anti-abortion laws allowed abortion in the cases of rape and incest). Due to lack of police evidence or documentation, the scheme was not successful and McCorvey would later admit the situation was a fabrication. She attempted to obtain an illegal abortion, but the respective clinics had been closed down by authorities. Eventually, McCorvey was referred to attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington. The case took three years of trials to reach the United States Supreme Court. In the meantime, McCorvey had given birth to the baby in question, who was eventually adopted.
McCorvey revealed herself to be "Jane Roe" of the decision within days of its issuance and stated that she sought an abortion because she was unemployable and greatly depressed.. In the 1980s, McCorvey asserted that she had been the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Weddington and Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff with whom they could challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.
In her first book, the 1994 autobiography, I Am Roe, McCorvey wrote of her sexuality. For many years, she had lived quietly in Dallas with her long-time partner, Connie Gonzales. "We're not like other lesbians, going to bars," she explained in a New York Times interview. "We're lesbians together. We're homers." That same year, she converted to Christianity and expressed remorse for her part in the Supreme Court decision. McCorvey has worked as part of the pro-life movement, such as Operation Rescue.
At a signing of I Am Roe, McCorvey was befriended by evangelical minister Flip Benham. She was baptized on August 8, 1995, by Benham in a Dallas, Texas, backyard swimming pool, an event that was filmed for national television. Two days later she announced that she had become an advocate of Operation Rescue's campaign to make abortion illegal.
McCorvey's second book, Won by Love, was published in 1998. She explained her change on the stance of abortion with the following comments:
Shortly thereafter, McCorvey released a statement that affirmed her entrance into the Roman Catholic Church, and she has been confirmed into the church as a full member. Priests for Life: Norma McCorvey's Ministry and Website She has also stated that she is no longer a lesbian. On August 17, 1998, she was received into the Catholic Church by Father Frank Pavone, the International Director of Priests for Life and Father Edward Robinson in Dallas.
In 2005, McCorvey petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision with McCorvey v. Hill, arguing that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure harms women, but that petition was denied.
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."
McCorvey is still active in pro-life demonstrations including that before President Barack Obama's commencement address to the graduates of the University of Notre Dame. The decision to have Obama speak at the school on May 17, 2009 was met with some controversy because his opinions on abortion differ from those of the Catholic Church. She was arrested during the first day of hearings for the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor after she and another protester started yelling during the opening statement of Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.).
