'Roe,' 'Doe' seek reversal of Supreme Court's 1973 abortion decisions

Published: 2005-01-19

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, the women who were "Jane Roe" and "Mary Doe," respectively, in the 1973 Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion virtually on demand, have filed a petition with the high court to set aside the decisions, or at least order a new trial on the merits for reversal. Allan Parker, president of the San Antonio-based Justice Foundation and lead attorney in the case, told Catholic News Service he expects to prevail in at least one of the cases. The man-bites-dog twist in this instance is that it is the winners, not the losers, who are looking to have the court's decision reversed. "You can imagine the lady who won Brown vs. Board of Education wouldn't want to go back," Parker said at a Jan. 18 press conference outside the Supreme Court, referring to the landmark school desegregation ruling. McCorvey and Cano, who both spoke at the press conference, are backed by 33 women from 19 states who say they regret having had abortions; one of the women had seven. Neither Cano nor McCorvey ever had the abortions at issue in their cases. "I was never told what an abortion would do," said McCorvey, the "Roe" in Roe vs. Wade. "I'm glad I didn't have an abortion. My baby is alive -- somewhere."

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