Norma McCorvey and Reproductive Justice by

Who was Jane Roe?

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:28:48 UTC

Jane Roe, an alias, was Norma McCorvey born in the fall of 1947 in a small, rural Louisiana town. The perils of her childhood were navigating an alcoholic mother and abuse. Norma began to be in trouble with the law at the age of 10. Always labeled as the "troubled girl" Norma was into drugs, alcohol, and sex work. Although identifying as lesbian, she wound up pregnant on three different occasions (“The Story of Roe v. Wade, Part 1: Who Was Jane Roe? (From the Archive).” The New York Times). The last of these children being referred to as the "Roe baby." This baby and Norma McCorvey's desire to terminate the pregnancy are the background of Roe V. Wade.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:30:29 UTC

This is some of the last footage of Norma McCorvey, from her documentary "AKA Jane Roe," before her death on February 18, 2017.

Political Liberalization and Texas

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:35:20 UTC

Around the time Norma found out she was pregnant for the third time, political liberalization bills were being passed. These bills were an effort at reform, placed an emphasis on women’s health, and established that most Americans believed abortion should be legal in some form. Texas was not liberalized. Norma lived in Texas.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:38:44 UTC

Norma McCorvey became Jane Roe when she met two lawyers Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee who were looking for a case that Norma fit the bill for. Norma became Jane Roe and was the plaintiff for the Supreme Court Case. Jane Roe, while the name became important, Norma McCorvey was often shoved aside due to her imperfections, she was highly uneducated and poor. Norma did not want to be a part of the case and the case did not want to give her the space to speak.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:41:04 UTC

Norma did not want to be a part of the case and the case did not want to give her the space to speak. Norma details in her documentary that “they [Weddington and Coffee] wanted to change the law. I wanted an abortion" (“AKA Jane Roe” Hulu). At the end of the hearing, in a 7-2 vote, Roe v. Wade ruled that abortion was constitutional and would become legal. Norma McCorvey never received an abortion.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:44:39 UTC

Norma McCorvey became a devout catholic, renouncing her sexuality as a lesbian and becoming the spokesperson for the Pro-life movement with Operation Rescue (Kurtzlebe, “The Forgotten Story of Jane Roe, Who Fought for and Then against Abortion Rights"). Religious groups began protesting outside of abortion clinics, lovingly referred to as “abortion mills” by these anti-abortion leaders (“AKA Jane Roe.” Hulu). Outside of clinics, protests held signs with Bible Verses or images of fetuses. The protestors were aggressively screaming at escorts and women there for the procedure that “God loves you” and “You’re killing an innocent baby” and etc. Operation Rescue was a religious based anti-abortion group who stood outside clinics after the passing of Roe V. Wade, the group that Norma McCorvey herself would become the face of.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:47:19 UTC

Religious beliefs hinder certain aspects of health based on strict following of that religion's teachings. Abortion is a huge example. Women are denied essential health care, berated, and wished to hell for the murdering of innocent lives. Jane Roe, Norma McCorvey, tie together many stories, perspectives, and lenses as to which the right to choose can be looked at through. Jane Roe is a story of oppression, specifically of class and gender. Jane Roe, if nothing else, relays the message that abortion is complicated.

chidesterng — 2023-11-16 19:49:48 UTC

We are all Jane Roes. All victims in a wider system of oppression and demonization. Here we are again, after the death of Jane Roe (and other crucial figures such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg), a little over a year since a woman’s right to choose has been taken away again. Jane Roe, although complex in her own right, is a cornerstone for women in America and will always be a symbol to those who choose choice, who choose essential health care, who choose women.