Norma McCorvey, who fought for women’s rights and was known as “Jane Roe” in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that established a constitutional right to abortion, has died at the age of 69, according to a priest close to the family.
The Rev. Frank Pavone, an anti-abortion rights activist, released a statement Saturday, saying, “Norma has been a friend of mine, and of Priests for Life, for more than 20 years. 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.”
McCorvey fought for women’s right to have an abortion. She became the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit filed to challenge the strict anti-abortion laws in Texas.
According to a report by CNN, “The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which handed down its controversial ruling on January 22, 1973. The decision legalized the right to an abortion in all 50 states and sparked a political debate that remains charged to this day.”
