Don’t get your dander up. This column is about the Roe in ‘Roe v. Wade,’ who recently passed away.
This column does not take a position on the issue. That is for each of us to decide and for the courts to resolve in a civilized society that believes in the Rule of Law.
What this column is about is the manner in which advocacy groups use and abuse the power of traditional and social media to make their case.
Jane Roe’s real name was Norma McCorvey. She was an abused child who spent years in a
Texas reform school.
Her first child was born out of wedlock and raised upon court order by her mother.
She wanted to terminate her second pregnancy. Rather than go to an abortion mill, she told her doctor that she had been raped in an attempt to have an abortion in Texas where the procedure was illegal. She was denied.
Two young lawyers – Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee – took up her cause. They chose her to make the test case because she could not afford to travel to a state where the procedure was legal and because of her very difficult and sympathetic personal history.
Norma signed the affidavit to file the case in March 1970 more than 50 years ago. The U.S. Supreme Court found in her favor in 1973, which was long after the baby was born and given up for adoption. So the plaintiff in this case never had the abortion she sought.
Many years later, Norma McCorvey went public in a giant media splash and said that she no longer believed that a woman should have the right to choose. She became the poster child for the Reverend Randall Terry and his Operation Rescue. She was their Oscar-winning spokesperson.
Norma knew she was being used and was a willing player, because she was paid $456,911 as documented in IRS-required annual reports for non-profits. These payments are called benevolence gifts.
The pro-choice movement was devastated. They had largely deserted Norma after the case was resolved because she wasn’t pretty enough, said what she thought sometimes profanely and had a sordid reputation. Actresses and other spokespeople just played better in the court of public opinion and in the eyes of the media. Norma really resented this.
No story is over until its over. Nearing death, Norma recanted. She said that her change of mind was not what she truly believed. She said “Sometimes women just make mistakes.” The media splash this time was not nearly as great, most likely due to the focus on COVID-19 and embarrassment over being duped.
She really believed that reversing Roe v. Wade would cause unthinkable chaos. That conclusion will become clearer as the many state Supreme Court cases are joined and wend their way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
So the lesson to consider is that these statements that go viral on social media may not be true and most likely are without veracity. This conclusion is easy to make when it becomes clear that the originators of these statements are paid or have some form of personal gain coming from their utterances or in the worst case fear retaliation.
It was President Reagan who said “Trust but verify.” That is good advice when presented with anything that has gone viral.
Roger Carlton is a columnist for The Graham Star. He is a councilmember for the Town of Lake Santeetlah.