Conversion can be complicated. Asked once to explain why her stories were often fraught with tension and violence, Catholic author Flannery O’Connor responded that her stories were about divine grace, colliding with imperfect and flawed individuals. The rejection of God’s grace and His call to conversion can be a messy, even violent affair. Its acceptance, however, holds the potential for healing a lifetime of scars. Norma McCorvey’s youth was marred by alcohol and drug abuse, and a life of sexual promiscuity that left her pregnant with her third child in 1969. Approached by eager abortion-rights lawyers, she became “Jane Roe” in what would eventually become the infamous Supreme Court decision of “Roe versus Wade.”
McCorvey went on to become a strong advocate for abortion rights, until her conversion to Christianity in 1995. Touched by the grace of God in Baptism, she then vowed she would dedicate the rest of her life to “undoing the law that bears my name.” Her life from that point was different, though far from perfect. Even the minister that baptized Norma later described her as a woman simply looking for attention and cash. By God’s grace, though, she was also looking for Christ.
In 1998, McCorvey was received into the Catholic Church. Secure in the Barque of Peter, she tirelessly promoted the sanctity of human life for two decades. On February 18, in the presence of family and friends, Norma died, her long struggle and cooperation with grace over. Roe no more, may Norma McCorvey rest in God’s eternal peace.
