The US Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v Wade, a precedent that guaranteed abortion rights to Americans. It is 

 But who exactly were Roe and Wade? Let’s find out.

Also read: Protests erupt outside Supreme Court after Roe V Wade reversal

Who were Roe and Wade? 

Jane Roe was the pseudonym given to Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey. She was a 21 year old woman who was the representative plaintiff in “Roe vs Wade”, seeking to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. This was the third time she had become pregnant, the first two babies having been given up for adoption. She lived in Dallas County, Texas at the time of the case. 

Also Read: Protests erupt outside Supreme Court after Roe V Wade reversal

Henry Wade was the elected District Attorney (DA) of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He was the DA when John F. Kennedy, the then President of the United States was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald. Although Wade did not get to try Oswald, as Oswald himself was shot dead by Jack Ruby, he gained national prominence for prosecuting Jack Ruby. As the Dallas County District Attorney where McCorvey/Roe was resident, Wade was named defendant in the case challenging Texas criminal statutes prohibiting most abortions. This is the case that became known as Roe vs Wade. 

How Roe vs Wade came into being

Norma McCorvey first tried to claim that she was pregnant as a result of rape, and tried to obtain a legal abortion exception under Texas law. Upon failing, she then tried to get an illegal abortion, only to find that the clinic that would have performed the procedure had been shut down by authorities. Her doctor asked her to meet with an attorney who would help her give the baby up for adoption, and the attorney in turn introduced her to Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee. Weddington and Coffee were the lawyers who became the counsel and co-counsel in the Roe vs Wade case.  

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According to an affidavit later filed by McCorvey in the year 2003, three decades after Roe vs Wade, upon asking Weddington and Coffee whether she fit the criteria they envisaged for the representative plaintiff of the case that would become Roe vs Wade, she claimed they said “Yes. You’re white. You’re young, pregnant and want an abortion.” 

In the same affidavit, McCorvey also explained how Weddington, Coffee and she came up with Jane Roe. “So we were trying to come up with something that would rhyme with Doe. After three or four pitchers of beer we started with the letter ‘a’ and eventually reached ‘r’ and agreed on ‘Roe’. Then I asked – what about Jane for the first name. Janie used to be my imaginary friend as a child. I told them about her and how she always wanted to do good things for people and it was decided – I became Jane Roe with the stroke of a pen.”

Since McCorvey was a resident of Dallas County in Texas, the defendant in the case became Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade. He aptly became Wade in Roe vs Wade.

Also read: Planned Parenthood vows to fight for abortion rights amid Roe v Wade reversal

What happened during the case?

Weddington and Coffee filed the Roe vs Wade suit in US federal court in 1970, contending that Texas’ abortion laws were unconstitutional. A three judge panel of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas heard the case and decided in their favor. The state of Texas then appealed to the US Supreme Court. in 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of McCorvey/Roe, contending that a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion was provided under the “right to privacy” as a part of the “due process clause” of the fourteenth amendment. 

McCorvey did not attend any of the hearings of the case. While the lawsuit continued in courts, she gave birth to a baby daughter and put her up for adoption. While the case continued in various courts, McCorvey began a lesbian relationship with a woman named Connie Gonzalez, which would continue for 35 years. 

Also read: US Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade: How lawmakers reacted

What happened to Roe and Wade after the case? 

After the case, McCorvey publicly confirmed she was Jane Roe. She converted to become an Evangelical Protestant in 1995 and said her relationship with Connie Gonzalez was platonic. McCorvey subsequently claimed that she had been a pawn for abortion activists and in 2005 sought to have Roe vs Wade overturned. Her case was dismissed by a three judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2006. 

In a documentary called “AKA Jane Roe” filmed a few months before her death in 2017, McCorvey claimed that she was paid to become a crusader for anti-abortion activists and to renounce her sexuality. The evangelical leader Reverend Rob Schenck corroborated the payments made to McCorvey she described in her “deathbed confession.”

After Roe vs Wade, Henry Wade went on to serve a further fourteen years as the DA from Dallas County. In his more than 30 years as DA, Wade built a legendary legacy by never losing a case which he handled personally. He retired in 1987. In 1988, Wade again entered the spotlight after the film “The Thin Blue Line” was released which questioned the legality of Wade’s practices while DA. Till date, more than 17 people that were convicted by Wade’s office have been exonerated through DNA evidence, shrouding Wade’s legacy. Wade died in 2001.