Would it surprise you to learn that Norma McCorvey, alias Jane
Roe never had an abortion? Yet the Supreme Court Case, Roe
versus Wade legalized abortion for all fifty states. Prior to
that case, abortion was not under the jurisdiction of the
federal government but was the responsibility of each state.
This watershed event and the circumstances that led up to it
forever changed the political and cultural landscape. The
Republicans appeared antagonistic to this ruling but the
Democrats, favoring the more liberal, but questionable, stance
as the party of the poor and downtrodden saw this as an
opportunity to strengthen themselves as well as their faltering
party. Norma McCorvey, raised in a small town in Texas, might be
considered akin to trailer park trash by some. People with
limited resources or poor role models have limited opportunities
and often make unwise choices. Although she had been pregnant
three times, she had never sought an abortion. Her first out-of-
wedlock baby was born when Norma was seventeen.