I can hear her voice faltering over the phone, and it breaks my heart.
As Norma McCorvey ““ the Roe from Roe v. Wade ““ lost her composure describing to me the millions who’ve died because of the court case that bears her name, I knew she had truly changed.
After all, the central figure in the 1973 Supreme Court case that made abortion legal now passionately believes the ruling was a terrible injustice.
On the anniversary of the case that McCorvey called “a thorn in (her) side” for the last 34 years, she’s standing up for the rights of the unborn.
And it’s about time that we as a nation did the same.
In what is the gravest travesty in the American judicial system, the Supreme Court found in the case of Roe v. Wade that anti-abortion laws violate a constitutional “right to privacy.”
The court case was so important to McCorvey ““ she once wrote that “abortion was the sun around which (her) life orbited” ““ that it might surprise some that now she is seeking to end what she called in our telephone interview “the holocaust of abortion.”
After her court case, McCorvey worked at a number of abortion clinics. In 1995 she struck up a friendship with a protester in front of her clinic ““ that friendship led to McCorvey’s conversion to Christianity and renunciation of her pro-choice opinions.
Now McCorvey says she believes that she’s “carrying on the work that the disciples did,” preaching the word, and helping the helpless.
Her voice broke when she told me of the unborn babies lost, how “no one speaks of them and of how they died, how they suffered, how they were someone’s child.”
And that emotion is more powerful than a truckload of facts.
Don’t get me wrong, the evidence shows that abortion is murder. For example, the fact that a baby in the womb has a heartbeat at six weeks is the origin of the phrase, “Abortion stops a beating heart.”
Deep down, people know it’s wrong.
As author Randy Alcorn argues in his book “Pro-life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments,” Americans think it’s immoral to drink while pregnant because it will damage the baby. However, these people don’t recognize a woman could go to a clinic and kill that same baby legally.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a research group that studies sexual and reproductive health, reported that there have been more than 43 million abortions since 1973. So many beating hearts silenced.
But the problem with abortion goes deeper than murder. It brings suffering to everyone involved.
“It’s divided the nation. It’s divided families. It’s divided us right down the middle,” McCorvey said.
“I would say not to have an abortion. It’s just a quick fix. There are crisis pregnancy centers, and many women want babies.”
So in honor of McCorvey, I request simply this on the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade: If any women reading this are pregnant, please don’t abort your baby. There are places that will help you and your unborn child.
And if you won’t listen to me, listen to the lady whose case started the whole problem, who still cries over her part in it.
“Abortion is not the solution,” McCorvey said. “The real solution is to be a real woman and have your babies. That’s what I did. I’ve had three children and gave two up for adoption.
“I’m glad I chose life.”
Hopefully someday the U.S. will come to its senses, make the right choice, and overturn Roe v. Wade.
If you agree or if you just want to vent your feelings, e-mail Crandall at jcrandall@ucla.media.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.