Editing Norma McCorvey

{{short description|Plaintiff in Roe v. Wade (1947–2017)}}
{{redirect|Jane Roe|the generic placeholder name|Jane Doe}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Norma McCorvey
| other_names = Jane Roe
| image       = Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) onthe steps of the Supreme Court, 1989 (cropped).jpg
| caption     = McCorvey in 1989
| birth_name  = Norma Leah Nelson
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1947|09|22}}
| birth_place = [[Simmesport, Louisiana]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2017|02|18|1947|09|22}}
| death_place = [[Katy, Texas]], U.S.
| occupation  =
| spouse      = {{marriage|Elwood McCorvey|1963|1965|end=div}}
| partner     = Connie Gonzalez (1970–1993)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n7_v12/ai_18008962/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708221141/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n7_v12/ai_18008962/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |title=Roe Finds God, Prays for Life |first=Julia |last=Duin |date=February 19, 1996 |access-date=March 31, 2012 }}</ref>
| children    = 3, including [[Shelley Lynn Thornton|Shelley]]
| known_for   = Plaintiff in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'', anti-abortion activist
}}

'''Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey''' (September 22, 1947 – February 18, 2017), also known by the pseudonym "'''Jane Roe'''", was the [[plaintiff]] in the landmark 1973 American legal case ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' in which the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled that individual state laws banning [[abortion]] were [[unconstitutional]].<ref name="Norma McCorvey">{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/28/garden/at-home-with-norma-mccorvey-of-roe-dreams-and-choices.html |title = Norma McCorvey: Of Roe, Dreams and Choices |first = Alex |last = Witchel |work = [[The New York Times]] |date = July 28, 1994 |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = May 9, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210509055858/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/28/garden/at-home-with-norma-mccorvey-of-roe-dreams-and-choices.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

Later in her life, McCorvey became an [[Evangelical Protestant]] and in her remaining years, a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], and took part in the [[anti-abortion movement]].<ref name="Roe v. McCorvey">{{cite web |last1 = McCorvey |first1 = Norma |last2 = Thomas |first2 = Gary |name-list-style = amp |date = January 1998 |url = http://www.leaderu.com/common/roev.html |title = Roe v. McCorvey |work = Leadership U |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = November 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108092326/http://www.leaderu.com/common/roev.html |url-status = live }}</ref> McCorvey stated then that her involvement in ''Roe'' was "the biggest mistake of [her] life".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constitutional law : cases in context|last=Barnett|first=Randy E.|others=Blackman, Josh|year=2018|isbn=978-1454892885|edition= Third|location=New York|pages=1176|oclc=1007494529}}</ref> However, in the Nick Sweeney documentary ''AKA Jane Roe'', McCorvey said, in what she called her "[[deathbed confession]]", that "she never really supported the anti-abortion movement" and that she had been paid for her professed anti-abortion sentiments.<ref name="Lawler">{{cite news |last1=Lawler |first1=Kelly |title=Roe v Wade's Jane Roe says she was paid to speak against abortion in shocking FX documentary |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/05/21/aka-jane-roe-fx-norma-mccorvey-paid-speak-against-abortion/5236476002/ |access-date=May 22, 2020 |agency=USA Today |date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522004837/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/05/21/aka-jane-roe-fx-norma-mccorvey-paid-speak-against-abortion/5236476002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
McCorvey was born Norma Leah Nelson in [[Simmesport, Louisiana]],<ref name="vanityfair.com">{{cite news |url = http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/02/norma-mccorvey-roe-v-wade-abortion |title = The Accidental Activist |date = February 2013 |work = [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |last = Prager |first = Joshua |access-date = April 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112062558/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/02/norma-mccorvey-roe-v-wade-abortion |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref> and spent her early childhood at her family's residence in [[Lettsworth, Louisiana|Lettsworth]] in [[Pointe Coupee Parish]].<ref>{{cite book |last1 = McCorvey |first1 = Norma |last2 = Meisler |first2 = Andy |name-list-style = amp |title = I Am Roe |year = 1994 |location = New York |publisher = Harper Collins |isbn = 0060170107 |page = [https://archive.org/details/iamroemyliferoev00mcco/page/11 11] |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/iamroemyliferoev00mcco/page/11 }}</ref> Later in her childhood, the family moved to [[Houston]]. McCorvey's father, Olin Nelson, a TV repairman, left the family when McCorvey was 13 years old, and her parents subsequently divorced.<ref>{{cite news |first = Ed |last = Pilkington |date = July 6, 2009 |url = https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/07/norma-mccorvey-abortion-america |title = These Steps Are Covered with Blood |work = [[The Guardian]] |location = London |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = November 9, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033410/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/07/norma-mccorvey-abortion-america |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="vanityfair.com" /> She and her older brother were raised by their mother, a violent alcoholic. McCorvey's father died on December 28, 1995. McCorvey's mother was raised a [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] but McCorvey's father led her and the family as [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBg1EAAAQBAJ&q=%22pentecostalism%22|isbn=978-0393247725|title=The Family Roe: An American Story|year=2021|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|access-date=December 8, 2021|archive-date=July 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726045940/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Family_Roe_An_American_Story/EBg1EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22pentecostalism%22|url-status=live}}</ref>

McCorvey had trouble with the law that began at the age of ten, when she [[robbed]] the [[cash register]] at a gas station and ran away to [[Oklahoma City]] with a friend.<ref name="vanityfair.com"/><ref name="Norma McCorvey" /> They tricked a hotel worker into letting them rent a room, and were there for two days when a [[maid]] walked in on her and her female friend kissing.<ref name="Norma McCorvey obituary">{{cite news|last1=Carlson|first1=Michael|title=Norma McCorvey obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/19/norma-mccorvey-obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=February 20, 2017|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209140333/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/19/norma-mccorvey-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref> McCorvey was arrested and taken to court, where she was declared a [[Ward (law)|ward of the state]] and a judge sent her to a Catholic boarding school, though she did not become Catholic until 1998.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Anton |first=Jacqulyne |year=2018 |url=https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making/vol11/iss1/11 |title=The Life and Legacy of Norma McCorvey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024140143/https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making/vol11/iss1/11/ |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |journal=History in the Making |volume=11 |number=11 |pages=164–174 }}</ref><ref name=harvp /><ref name="Norma McCorvey obituary"/>

Later, McCorvey was sent to the State School for Girls in [[Gainesville, Texas]], on and off from ages 11 to 15. She said this was the [[happiest]] time of her childhood, and every time she was sent home, would purposely do something bad to be sent back. After being released, McCorvey lived with her mother's cousin, who allegedly raped her every night for three weeks. When McCorvey's mother found out, her cousin said McCorvey was lying.<ref name=harvp>{{cite book |last1=McCorvey |first1=Norma |title=I am Roe : my life, Roe v. Wade, and freedom of choice |date=1994 |pages = 23–47 |publisher=Harper Collins|location=New York |isbn=978-0060170103 |edition=1st}}</ref>

While working at a restaurant, Norma met Woody McCorvey (born 1940), and she married him at the age of 16 in 1963. She later left him after he allegedly [[domestic violence|assaulted]] her. She moved in with her mother and gave birth to her first child, Melissa, in 1965.<ref name="People">{{cite news |first1 = Michelle |last1 = Green |first2 = Lois |last2 = Armstrong |name-list-style = amp |date = May 22, 1989 |url = http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20120340,00.html |title = The Woman Behind ''Roe V. Wade'' |work = [[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = April 25, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160425213738/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20120340,00.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="New York Times 2017">{{cite news |last1 = McFadden |first1 = Robert D. |title = Norma McCorvey, 'Roe' in ''Roe v. Wade'', Is Dead at 69 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/obituaries/norma-mccorvey-dead-roe-v-wade.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries |access-date = February 18, 2017 |work = The New York Times |date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = June 28, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210628150730/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/obituaries/norma-mccorvey-dead-roe-v-wade.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries |url-status = live }}</ref> After Melissa's birth, McCorvey developed a severe drinking and drug problem.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> Soon after, she began identifying as a lesbian. In her book, she stated that she went on a weekend trip to visit two friends and left her baby with her mother. When she returned, her mother replaced Melissa with a baby doll and reported Norma to the police as having abandoned her baby, and called the police to take her out of the house. She would not tell her where Melissa was for weeks, and finally let her visit her child after three months. She allowed McCorvey to move back in. One day, she woke McCorvey up after a long day of work; she told McCorvey to sign what were presented as [[insurance]] papers, and she did so without reading them. However, the papers she had signed were [[adoption]] papers, giving her mother custody of Melissa, and McCorvey was then kicked out of the house.<ref name=harvp /> Her mother disputed that version of the events, and said that McCorvey had agreed to the adoption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/09/jane-roe-v-wade-baby-norma-mccorvey/620009/|title=The Roe Baby|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=September 9, 2021|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=September 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919060830/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/09/jane-roe-v-wade-baby-norma-mccorvey/620009/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The following year, McCorvey again became pregnant and gave birth to a baby, Jennifer, who was placed for adoption.<ref name="Washington Post 2017">{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-of-roe-v-wade-decision-legalizing-abortion-dies-at-69/2017/02/18/24b83108-396e-11e6-8f7c-d4c723a2becb_story.html |title = Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of ''Roe v. Wade'' Decision Legalizing Abortion, dies at 69 |last = Langer |first = Emily |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = February 18, 2017 |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = February 19, 2017 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20170219083004/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-of-roe-v-wade-decision-legalizing-abortion-dies-at-69/2017/02/18/24b83108-396e-11e6-8f7c-d4c723a2becb_story.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

==''Roe v. Wade''==
{{Main|Roe v. Wade|l1=''Roe v. Wade''}}
In 1969, at the age of 21, McCorvey became pregnant a third time and returned to [[Dallas]]. According to McCorvey, friends advised her that she should assert falsely that she had been [[rape]]d by a group of [[black men]] and that she could thereby obtain a legal [[abortion]] under Texas's law, which prohibited most abortion; sources differ over whether Texas law had such a rape exception.<ref>{{cite court |litigants = Roe v. Wade |url = https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/113/ |vol = 410 |reporter = U.S. |opinion = 113 |year = 1973 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Cawthon |first= Elisabeth |year= 2004 |title = Medicine on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents |url = https://archive.org/details/medicineontrialh0000cawt |url-access = registration |location = Santa Barbara, CA |publisher = ABC-CLIO |page= [https://archive.org/details/medicineontrialh0000cawt/page/13 13] |isbn = 978-1851095698  |oclc = 55063372 |via= [[Internet Archive]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-first = Lynda Lee |editor1-last = Kaid |editor2-first = Christina |editor2-last = Holtz-Bacha |name-list-style = amp |year = 2008 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-woKG0HTstwC&pg=PT45 |title = Encyclopedia of Political Communication |volume = 1 |chapter = Abortion |first = David C. |last = Bailey |location = Los Angeles |publisher = Sage |pages = 2–3 |isbn = 978-1412917995 |oclc = 237199431 |access-date = May 13, 2016 |archive-date = May 23, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190523052857/https://books.google.com/books?id=-woKG0HTstwC&pg=PT45 |url-status = live }}</ref> Due to a lack of police evidence or documentation, the scheme was not successful, and McCorvey later said it was a fabrication.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = McCorvey |first1 = Norma |last2= Thomas |first2 = Gary |name-list-style = amp |title = Won by Love |location = Nashville |publisher = Thomas Nelson Publishers |year = 1997 |page = 241 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = McCorvey |first = Norma |title = Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights |date = January 21, 1998 |url = http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/(ATT)/A4C48AF367A417A84825661A007776E1/$file/C0520006.PDF |via = Parliament of Western Australia |access-date = May 18, 2007 |archive-date = June 14, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614102023/http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/(ATT)/A4C48AF367A417A84825661A007776E1/$file/C0520006.PDF |url-status = live }}</ref> She attempted to obtain an illegal abortion, but the recommended clinic had been closed down by authorities.<ref name="People" /> Her doctor, Richard Lane, suggested that she consult Henry McCluskey, an [[adoption]] lawyer in Dallas. McCorvey stated that she was only interested in an abortion, but agreed to meet with McCluskey.<ref name="vanityfair.com" />

Eventually, McCorvey was referred to attorneys [[Linda Coffee]] and [[Sarah Weddington]],<ref name=harvp /><ref>{{cite web |title=Roe v. Wade |url=https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/roe-v-wade |website=History.com |publisher=The Arena Group |access-date=November 1, 2021 |date=May 15, 2019 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101023811/https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/roe-v-wade |url-status=live }}</ref> who were looking for pregnant women who were seeking abortions. The case, ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' ([[Henry Wade]] was the district attorney), took three years of trials to reach the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], and McCorvey never attended a single trial. During the course of the lawsuit, McCorvey gave birth and placed the baby for adoption.<ref name="Norma McCorvey" /> McCorvey told the press that she was "Jane Roe" soon after the decision was reached, stating that she had sought an abortion because she was unemployable and greatly [[Depression (mood)|depressed]].<ref name="vanityfair.com" /><ref>{{cite web |date=January 17, 2009 |title='Jane Roe' Started Abortion Battle |url=http://ravingatheist.com/2009/01/trivia-question-answer |access-date=June 23, 2014 |work=The Raving Theist |archive-date=May 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513030852/http://ravingatheist.com/2009/01/trivia-question-answer/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1983, McCorvey told the press that she had been raped; in 1987, she said the rape claim was untrue.<ref name="vanityfair.com" />

=== Baby at the center of the lawsuit ===

In 2021, [[Shelley Lynn Thornton]] was publicly revealed as having been the fetus at the center of the ''Roe'' case. Thornton became aware that McCorvey was her [[Mother#Biological mother|birth mother]] in 1989, after a journalist for the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' tracked down Thornton, then a teenager, and told her about her prenatal history. The ''National Enquirer'' journalist was motivated by McCorvey's appearance on the ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' show, in which she spoke of her desire to meet her daughter. Finding out she was McCorvey's birth daughter greatly upset Thornton.<ref name="NBC News 9-9-21" />

In 1991, Thornton became pregnant and did not have an abortion because, according to Thornton, abortion was "not part of who [she] was". By 2021, Thornton had met McCorvey's two other daughters (Thornton's [[half-sibling]]s), but never met McCorvey. According to Thornton, she and McCorvey had a phone conversation in 1994, in which McCorvey told her that she should have thanked her for not having an abortion. Thornton's visceral reaction was "What! I'm supposed to thank you for getting knocked up{{nbsp}}... and then giving me away?" Thornton added that she "would never, ever thank [McCorvey] for not aborting [her]".<ref name="NBC News 9-9-21">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/identity-roe-baby-revealed-after-decades-secrecy-n1278821 |title=Identity of 'Roe baby' revealed after decades of secrecy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626143736/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/identity-roe-baby-revealed-after-decades-secrecy-n1278821 |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |first=Scott |last=Stump |work=NBC News |date=September 9, 2021 }}</ref> She reflected that "when someone's pregnant with a baby, and they don't want that baby, that person develops knowing they're not wanted."<ref>{{cite book |first=Joshua |last=Prager |date=2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBg1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT116 |url-status=live |title=The Roe Family: An American Story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527052611/https://books.google.com/books?id=EBg1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT116 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |page=116 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=9780393247725 }}</ref>

After her public revelation in 2021, Thornton stated she was "neither pro-life nor pro-choice".<ref name="NBC News 9-9-21"/>

==Anti-abortion activism==
In 1994, McCorvey published her autobiography, ''[[I Am Roe]]''. At a book signing, McCorvey was befriended by [[Flip Benham]], an [[evangelical]] minister and the national director of the [[anti-abortion]] organization [[Operation Save America|Operation Rescue]].<ref>{{cite news |first1 = Joe |last1 = Maxwell |first2 = Roy |last2 = Maynard |date = September 2, 1995 |volume = 10 |issue = 15 |work = The Forerunner |url = http://www.forerunner.com/fyi/roewades.html |title = Miss Norma & Her Baby: Two Victims Who Got Away |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = February 19, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170219095032/http://www.forerunner.com/fyi/roewades.html |url-status = live }}</ref> She converted to [[Evangelical Protestantism]] and 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 quit her job at an abortion clinic and had become an advocate of Operation Rescue's campaign to make abortion illegal.<ref name=harvp /> She voiced remorse for her part in the Supreme Court decision and said she had been a pawn for abortion activists.<ref name="Norma McCorvey obituary" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Roe v Wade – Norma McCorvey |url=http://www.excerptsofinri.com/roe_v_wade.html |website=excerptsofinri.com |access-date=February 20, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814103956/http://www.excerptsofinri.com/roe_v_wade.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On August 17, 1998, McCorvey was received into the [[Catholic Church]] in a [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]] celebrated by Father Edward Robinson and concelebrated by Father [[Frank Pavone]], director of [[Priests for Life]], at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in Dallas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/norma-mccorvey-plaintiff-roe-ruling-who-later-became-pro-life-dies |title=Norma McCorvey, plaintiff in Roe ruling who later became pro-life, dies |date=February 20, 2017 |publisher=National Catholic Reporter |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804200434/https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/norma-mccorvey-plaintiff-roe-ruling-who-later-became-pro-life-dies |url-status=live }}</ref> McCorvey's second book, ''Won by Love'', described her religious conversion and was published in 1998. In the book, she said that her change of heart occurred in 1995, when she saw a [[fetal development]] poster in an Operation Rescue office.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=McCorvey|first1=Norma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj2CAlbeX8UC&q=%22THE+POSTER+depicted+basic+fetal+development%22&pg=PT188|title=Won by Love|last2=Thomas|first2=Gary|publisher=Thomas Nelson|year=1998|isbn=978-1418561796|language=en|access-date=December 1, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206230424/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj2CAlbeX8UC&q=%22THE+POSTER+depicted+basic+fetal+development%22&pg=PT188|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, McCorvey sought to have the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'', saying that there was now evidence that the procedure harms women, but the case was ultimately dismissed in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Court rejects motion to overturn Roe v. Wade – Sep 14, 2004|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/14/roe.v.wade/|website=[[CNN]] |access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=March 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304221734/http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/14/roe.v.wade/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Norma McCorvey, 'Jane Roe' of Roe v. Wade, dies|url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/national/norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-of-roe-v-wade-court-case-legalizing-abortion-has-died|date=February 18, 2017|website=WCPO |agency=[[Associated Press]] |language=en|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=March 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074551/https://www.wcpo.com/news/national/norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-of-roe-v-wade-court-case-legalizing-abortion-has-died|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 22, 2008, McCorvey endorsed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidate [[Ron Paul]] because of his anti-abortion position.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2008/01/22/4433288-jane-roe-endorses-paul?lite |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120926185037/http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2008/01/22/4433288-jane-roe-endorses-paul?lite |url-status = dead |archive-date = September 26, 2012 |title = 'Jane Roe' Endorses Paul |publisher = MSNBC }}</ref>

McCorvey remained active in anti-abortion demonstrations, including one she participated in before President [[Barack Obama]]'s commencement address to the graduates of the [[University of Notre Dame]]. McCorvey was arrested on the first day of [[Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination|U.S. Senate hearings for the confirmation]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] of [[Sonia Sotomayor]] after McCorvey and another protester began shouting during Senator [[Al Franken]]'s opening statement.<ref>{{cite news |first = Paul |last = Kane |date = July 13, 2009 |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302345.html?hpid=topnews |title = 'Jane Roe' Arrested at Supreme Court Hearing |newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] |access-date = February 18, 2017 |archive-date = September 27, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160927014952/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302345.html?hpid=topnews |url-status = live }}</ref> McCorvey appeared in the 2013 film ''[[Doonby]]'', in which she delivers an anti-abortion message.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/woman-at-center-roe-v-184611 |title = Woman at Center of ''Roe v. Wade'' Stars in Abortion-Themed Movie (Exclusive) |first = Paul |last = Bond |date = May 4, 2011 |access-date = June 20, 2011 |archive-date = June 7, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110607232339/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/woman-at-center-roe-v-184611 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="THR">{{cite web |url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/do-you-know-who-woman-184824/ |title=Do You Know Who This Woman Is? |author=Bond, Paul |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=February 26, 2012 |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805064500/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/do-you-know-who-woman-184824 |url-status=live }}</ref> She is also the subject of [[Joshua Prager (writer)|Joshua Prager]]'s 2021 book, ''[[The Family Roe: An American Story]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Giridharadas |first=Anand |date=September 9, 2021 |title=The Epic Life of the Woman Behind Roe v. Wade |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/books/review/family-roe-joshua-prager.html |access-date=May 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429150339/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/books/review/family-roe-joshua-prager.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 12, 2022 |title=Los Angeles Review of Books |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/no-one-knows-roe-like-joshua-prager/ |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503023716/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/no-one-knows-roe-like-joshua-prager/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life with Connie Gonzalez==
Soon after giving birth a third time, as ''Roe v. Wade'' made its way through the courts, McCorvey met and began a [[long-term relationship]] with Connie Gonzalez.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> They lived together in Dallas for 35 years.

After converting to Catholicism, McCorvey continued to live with Gonzalez, though she described their relationship as [[Platonic relationship|platonic]]. Later in life, McCorvey stated that she was no longer a [[lesbian]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Hatch|first=Jenavieve|date=January 22, 2016|title=The Fascinating Story Of The Woman At The Center Of Roe v. Wade|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-fascinating-story-of-the-woman-at-the-center-of-roe-v-wade_us_569fe850e4b0d8cc1098772b|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225052034/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-fascinating-story-of-the-woman-at-the-center-of-roe-v-wade_us_569fe850e4b0d8cc1098772b|url-status=live}}</ref> although she later said that her religious conversion to Evangelical Christianity and  renouncement of her sexuality were financially motivated.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Emma|date=May 5, 2020|title=In Death, Jane Roe Finally Tells The Truth About Her Life|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aka-jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-documentary_n_5ec4497ec5b6d848116bc8de|access-date=October 13, 2020|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013165217/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aka-jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-documentary_n_5ec4497ec5b6d848116bc8de|url-status=live}}</ref> McCorvey moved out of the house she shared with Gonzalez in 2006, shortly after Gonzalez suffered a stroke.<ref name="vanityfair.com" />

==Death==
Norma McCorvey died of cardiac arrest in [[Katy, Texas]], on February 18, 2017, at the age of 69.<ref name="New York Times 2017" /><ref name="Washington Post 2017" />

==''AKA Jane Roe'' documentary==

On May 22, 2020, a documentary titled ''AKA Jane Roe'' aired on [[FX (TV channel)|FX]], describing McCorvey's life and the financial incentives to change her views on abortion.<ref name="Lawler">{{cite news |last1=Lawler |first1=Kelly |title=Roe v Wade's Jane Roe says she was paid to speak against abortion in shocking FX documentary |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/05/21/aka-jane-roe-fx-norma-mccorvey-paid-speak-against-abortion/5236476002/ |access-date=May 22, 2020 |agency=USA Today |date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522004837/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/05/21/aka-jane-roe-fx-norma-mccorvey-paid-speak-against-abortion/5236476002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In an interview conducted for the film shortly before her death, in what she referred to as her "[[deathbed confession]]", McCorvey said her [[anti-abortion movements|anti-abortion activism]] had been "all an act", which she did because she was paid, stating that she did not care whether a woman got an abortion. "I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they'd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That's what I'd say," McCorvey said. "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that's no skin off my ass. That's why they call it choice", she added.<ref name="LAT-20200519">{{cite news |last=Blake |first=Meredith |date=May 19, 2020 |title=The woman behind 'Roe vs. Wade' didn't change her mind on abortion. She was paid |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-05-19/roe-v-wade-jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-hulu-doc-abortion |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531073715/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-05-19/roe-v-wade-jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-hulu-doc-abortion |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WP-20200520">{{cite news |last=Hesse |first=Monica |date=May 20, 2020 |title='Jane Roe,' from Roe v. Wade, made a stunning deathbed confession. Now what? |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jane-roe-from-roe-v-wade-made-a-stunning-deathbed-confession-now-what/2020/05/20/fad9d296-9a09-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204062048/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jane-roe-from-roe-v-wade-made-a-stunning-deathbed-confession-now-what/2020/05/20/fad9d296-9a09-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Rob Schenck|Robert Schenck]], a formerly anti-abortion evangelical pastor who worked with McCorvey, verified the claim made in the documentary of McCorvey receiving financial compensation. He acknowledged that his group paid McCorvey to speak against abortion, stating: "Her name and photo would command some of the largest windfalls of dollars for my group and many others, but the money we gave her was modest. More than once, I tried to make up for it with an added check, but it was never fair."<ref name="REU-20200520">{{cite news |last1=Serjeant |first1=Jill |title=Plaintiff in Roe v. Wade U.S. abortion case says she was paid to switch sides |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abortion-jane-roe-idUSKBN22V33D |access-date=May 20, 2020 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=May 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521015214/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abortion-jane-roe-idUSKBN22V33D |archive-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> According to tax documents, McCorvey received at least $450,000 from anti-abortion groups during her years as an activist.<ref name="Graham2020">{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Ruth |title=How the Anti-Abortion Movement Is Responding to Jane Roe's 'Deathbed Confession' |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/05/jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-confession-anti-abortion.html |website=Slate Magazine |access-date=May 23, 2020 |language=en |date=May 22, 2020 |archive-date=June 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612145909/https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/05/jane-roe-norma-mccorvey-confession-anti-abortion.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Schenck said that he was surprised that McCorvey said she favored abortion rights, although he said that he knew she "harboured doubts about the [[pro-life]] message she was telegraphing".<ref>{{cite web |first=Sarah |last=Jackson |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.5576923/we-used-her-minister-regrets-paying-roe-vs-wade-plaintiff-to-speak-out-against-abortion-1.5576924 |title='We used her': Minister regrets paying Roe vs. Wade plaintiff to speak out against abortion |date=May 20, 2020 |publisher=CBC Radio |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521115053/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.5576923/we-used-her-minister-regrets-paying-roe-vs-wade-plaintiff-to-speak-out-against-abortion-1.5576924 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pavone, who had a decades long association with McCorvey, said that she was not on the payroll of his organization, Priests for Life, and said that he did not believe that McCorvey's activism was disingenuous saying, "I can even see her being emotionally cornered to get those words out of her mouth, but the things that I saw in 22 years with her—the thousands and thousands of conversations that we had—that was real."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44580/the-painful-journey-of-jane-roe-and-the-pro-life-movement |title=The 'painful journey' of Jane Roe and the pro-life movement |last=Flynn |first=J.D. |date=May 19, 2020 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528003045/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-painful-journey-of-jane-roe-and-the-pro-life-movement-14373 |url-status=live }}</ref> He later wrote, "So abortion supporters are claiming Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of ''Roe v. Wade'', wasn't sincere in her conversion. She was. I was her spiritual guide for 22 years, received her into the Catholic Church, kept regular contact, spoke with her the day she died, and conducted her funeral."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pro-lifers betrayed their cause by treating Norma McCorvey, 'Jane Roe,' as less than fully human |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/05/20/pro-lifers-betrayed-their-cause-treating-norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-less-fully-human |first=Simcha |last=Fisher |date=May 20, 2020 |website=America Magazine |language=en |access-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528093859/https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/05/20/pro-lifers-betrayed-their-cause-treating-norma-mccorvey-jane-roe-less-fully-human |url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[Abby Johnson (activist)|Abby Johnson]], who worked for [[Planned Parenthood]] before joining the anti-abortion movement, said that McCorvey called her on the phone days before her death to express remorse for abortion. Johnson said that she believed McCorvey was a damaged woman who should not have been thrust into the spotlight so quickly after turning against abortion saying, "I don't have any problem believing that in the last year of her life that she tried to convince herself abortion was OK. But I know at the end of her life, she did not believe that."<ref name="Graham2020" />

== Books ==
* {{cite book |last1 = McCorvey |first1 = Norma |last2 = Meisler |first2 = Andy |name-list-style = amp |year = 1994 |title = I Am Roe |location = New York |publisher = Harper Collins |isbn = 0060170107 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/iamroemyliferoev00mcco }}
* {{cite book |last1 = McCorvey |first1 = Norma |last2 = Thomas |first2 = Gary |name-list-style = amp |author-mask = McCorvey, Norma|year = 1997 |title = Won by Love |location = Nashville |publisher = Thomas Nelson Publishers |isbn = 0785272372 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Prager|first=Joshua|title=[[The Family Roe: An American Story]]|date=2021|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0393247725|language=en}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4808599/user-clip-norma-mccorvey-roe-v-wade-speaks-abortion Norma McCorvey speaking at the 1998 March for Life] (''C-SPAN'')

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