‘Jane Roe’s’ Journey: Pro-Abortion Plaintiff to Pro-Life Advocate

Norma McCorvey — the plaintiff known as “Jane Roe” in the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case — died Saturday at age 69.

Many liberals rushed to Twitter to celebrate McCorvey for the part she played in the case that brought nationwide legal abortion to the United States. What they ignored or didn’t know was the full story of the woman who went to court seeking an abortion, experienced an incredible conversion — and eventually became a vocal pro-life advocate.

“Upon knowing God, I realized that my case, which legalized abortion on demand, was the biggest mistake of my life.”

McCorvey found herself unmarried, unemployed and pregnant with her third child in 1969 by the age of 22. After deciding to seek an abortion in Texas — a state in which abortions were illegal in most cases — McCorvey was scooped up by lawyers seeking to back a pregnant woman to challenge the state’s law. Although her daughter had been given up for adoption long before the Supreme Court ultimately made its decision in 1973, McCorvey pursued the case that paved the way for abortion advocates’ national agenda.

Despite her initial anonymity, the Left lionized McCorvey when she came out several years later as “Jane Roe.” Capitalizing upon the attention, McCorvey penned a pro-abortion autobiography in 1994 called, “I Am Roe: My Life, Roe v. Wade, and Freedom of Choice,” and worked in a Dallas abortion clinic. McCorvey also outlined her life as a lesbian and her struggles with alcoholism and drug abuse.

Just one year after she published her autobiography, however, McCorvey’s life irrevocably changed when she initially converted to evangelical Christianity before settling on Roman Catholicism. And with her religious conversions, McCorvey ultimately rejected her homosexuality and became a fervent pro-life activist.

“Back in 1973, I was a very confused 21-year-old with one child and facing an unplanned pregnancy,” McCorvey told Life Site in 2016, adding, “The truth be told, I have three daughters and I have never had an abortion.”

“Upon knowing God, I realized that my case, which legalized abortion on demand, was the biggest mistake of my life,” McCorvey said.

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In 1998, McCorvey wrote about her conversion in “Won by Love” and founded Roe No More Ministry in 1997. From then on, McCorvey became one of the pro-life movement’s most vocal advocates.

“You see, abortion has eliminated 50 million innocent babies in the U.S. alone since 1973. Abortion scars an untold number of post-abortive mothers, fathers, and families, too,” McCorvey told Life Site. “You read about me in history books, but now I’m dedicated to spreading the truth about preserving the dignity of all human life from natural conception to natural death.”

Although the Left champions Roe v. Wade as a landmark case promoting women’s “rights” and the “right to choose” — McCorvey spent the last years of her life fighting for every child’s right to life.

“She was victimized and exploited by abortion ideologues when she was a young woman but she came to be genuinely sorry that a decision named for her has led to the deaths of more than 58 million children,” Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in a statement Saturday.

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Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement Saturday that McCorvey “is no doubt rejoicing in heaven with the lives she has helped to spare over her lifetime.”

“She was one of the first women that the abortion industry publicly betrayed, using her to fill the position of ‘Jane Roe’ in the infamous Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade that made abortion legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy for any reason,” Hawkins added. “Eventually Ms. McCorvey had a public conversion to Christianity and became one of the most widely-known and effective advocates for the preborn of her generation. We cannot thank her enough and pray that she rests in peace.”

Many also lauded McCorvey for setting a profound example of the power of grace and redemption in her life’s story.

“While Norma McCorvey will forever be known as the Roe in Roe v Wade, she became a shining example of Christ’s grace and forgiveness,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) tweeted Saturday.

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