Norma McCorvey

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Norma McCorvey, aka "Jane Roe"

Norma Leah McCorvey (née Nelson born September 22, 1947 in Simmesport, Louisiana) is best known as "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade lawsuit in which a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling recognized abortion as a Constitutional right, overturning individual states' laws against abortion.

1 Background
2 Conversion
3 TV movie
4 Books
5 External links
- 5.1 Information about McCorvey via religious sites

[edit] Background

The case took three years to reach the United States Supreme Court. In the mean time, McCorvey had given birth.

At the time of the case, she claimed her pregnancy was the result of rape, but she now says that she was lying. At one point, she went so far as to give a detailed account of her rape. Her (at the time) alleged rape was not mentioned or used in the arguments for Roe v. Wade, because the attorneys had determined McCorvey's claims to be questionable.

McCorvey went public with her identity in the 1980s.

McCorvey now claims she became the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff whom they could use to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.

In her 1994 autobiography, "I am Roe," she wrote of her bisexuality. For many years she lived quietly in Dallas 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."

[edit] Conversion

At a signing of her first book in 1994, McCorvey was confronted by pro-life activist Flip Benham. Within a year, McCorvey converted to Christianity in 1995. On August 8, she was baptized by Benham in a Dallas backyard swimming pool that was filmed for national television. On August 10 of that year, she announced that she had become an advocate of the pro-life movement (specifically, "Operation Rescue"), fighting to make abortion illegal.

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.

In 2005, she petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision, arguing that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure may harm women, but this petition was denied.

Despite her asking for an abortion during her case, McCorvey never had the procedure. She gave birth to her first daughter, Melissa, and later two more. This was due to the fact that contested (and sometimes uncontested) court cases take longer than nine months for decisions to be handed down.