The person in this experiment is Norma McCorvey, better known by her pseudonym “Jane Roe” in the landmark Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade, the case that made abortion legal in the United States and guaranteed women the right to an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy.
McCorvey was a complex person whose views on abortion changed markedly over time, but whose involvement in the abortion debate significantly helped shape the course of women’s rights in the United States.
Early Life
McCorvey was born Norma Leah Nelson on September 22, 1947, in Simmesport, Louisiana. Norma’s father Olin, a television repairman, left when she was 13, so she and her older brother James were raised in Texas by their mother Mildred, who was an abusive alcoholic.
Possibly as a result of her turbulent upbringing, McCorvey robbed a gas station cash register at the age of ten, and was arrested in a hotel room during a tryst with a female friend. In her later life, she was sent to the State School for Girls in Gaineseville – an institution that she liked so much that she would deliberately get into trouble in the hopes of returning there.
After leaving reform school, Norma claimed that a cousin of her mother’s raped her repeatedly over the course of several weeks, an allegation that the cousin denied. At the age of 16 she entered into a brief marriage with steelworker Elwood “Woody” McCorvey, but soon left him, claiming he abused her.
Norma returned to her mother pregnant, and gave birth to her first daughter Melissa before obtaining a divorce from Woody. Seeking escape from her troubled life, McCorvey took refuge in drugs and alcohol. It was around this time that she began identifying as a lesbian.
After taking a weekend trip with friends and leaving Melissa with her mother, Mildred accused her of having abandoned her baby, and later tricked her into signing adoption papers on the pretense that they were insurance documents. In the following year, Norma became pregnant again, and placed the baby with adoptive parents.
Roe vs. Wade
McCorvey found herself pregnant for a third time in 1969, when she was 21, but was not able to get a legal abortion because Texas law prohibited it. She claimed that her pregnancy was the result of a gang rape in order to get around the law, but this strategy failed, and she later admitted that the allegation had been false. Attempts to get an illegal abortion were also unsuccessful.
Five months pregnant by this time, Norma was referred to attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, who were trying to find women in need of abortions. McCorvey signed on as plaintiff in the case, but never appeared in court or testified, and because the case took three years to reach the Supreme Court, she never actually received an abortion. Her third and final child was also put up for adoption.
In 1973, the Supreme Court decided 7-2 that women could legally have an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy “free of interference by the state,” and that a fetus is not considered a person at conception. McCorvey found out about the decision in the newspaper, and remained anonymous for almost a decade after the case ended. She revealed herself to the press in the 1980s as the plaintiff, claiming that she had been the “pawn” of her lawyers due to her desperate situation.
Later Life and Conversion
Norma lived in Dallas with her partner Connie Gonzalez for many years, and in 1994 she wrote her first book, I Am Roe, in which she discussed her sexual orientation. In the years following the Supreme Court case, she initially worked as a champion for abortion rights, working at clinics and participating in rallies.
At a signing of her first book, McCorvey met evangelical minister Flip Benham, who was the director of an anti-abortion group called Operation Rescue. In 1995, Norma was baptized on national television, and began working with Benham’s group to make abortion illegal. In 1998 she published her second book, Won by Love, in which she detailed the reasons for her change of heart. Shortly afterward she converted to Roman Catholicism, and stated that she was no longer a lesbian.
In 2005, McCorvey tried to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, claiming that the procedure was harmful to women, but the Supreme Court declined to take up the case. She spent the latter years of her life involved in pro-life organizations and demonstrations, becoming a vocal opponent of President Barack Obama. In 2009, she was arrested at a demonstration during the Senate hearing for confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, for causing a disturbance during opening statements.
Death and Legacy
McCorvey died of heart failure in an assisted-living facility on February 18, 2017, at the age of 69. Despite her peripheral involvement in Roe v. Wade, the outcome of the case has resulted in around 50 million legal abortions in the United States, and the debate over the issue will not likely be resolved anytime soon.
Norma was viewed as a heroine of the women’s rights movement by many, and reviled by many others. She inspired films, books, and plays, but also endured slurs, death threats, and direct attacks on her home. So if her opinions changed over the course of her lifetime, it’s worth considering the intense amount of pressure she was under from both directions, and the psychological torment that must have been the result of that stressful condition. She was a woman with a complicated background and character, and both are reflected in the many twists and turns her life eventually took.
Intuitive Hits
Several readers picked up on Norma’s troubled personal history, and the emotional trauma that surrounded her in this incarnation. She was indeed abused by a brutal person, as Annikari mentioned, and was an abuser of alcohol herself at one time.
She was an author, as some people correctly noted, penning two books on her life and her role in the abortion debate. KR rightly pointed out that McCorvey had heart issues, was of course heavily involved in politics, and was thrust into the public spotlight, somewhat against her will.
A number of readers also picked up on McCorvey’s bisexuality/lesbianism, and her relationship with a woman. Terri T was correct that Norma became deeply religious later in life, converting to Catholicism.
Well done to Tracey for intuiting the name Norma, as well as several other details of McCorvey’s life. I was also particularly interested in how many people mentioned a name starting with a J, sounding like Jane, Jean, or Joan. You may have been picking up on Norma’s pseudonym Jane Roe in this case, which is how she is better known. Well done to Laura as well, for getting that Norma lived in Texas.
A few readers also mentioned the name Sandra, which interested me enough to try and find a connection to McCorvey. As it turns out, there was a companion case called Doe v. Bolton that was decided by the Supreme Court on the very same day as Roe v. Wade, and the plaintiff in that case went by the pseudonym Mary Doe. But her real name was Sandra Cano, and it appears that she did have contact with Norma McCorvey, judging by photos that I found of them together at public events.
Interestingly, Sandra came from a similarly difficult background, and also became a pro-life advocate later in her own life, attempting unsuccessfully to overturn the Doe v. Bolton verdict with the Supreme Court. So you may have been getting hints of the parallels there, which is fascinating!
There were really too many hits to mention specifically here, so well done to any that I may have overlooked!
How did you do with this one? Please let me know in the comments section below!
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Hi that was a great experiment I felt law and court around her . Also I felt a lot of sadness and even anger around her .
I felt she had passed .
Thank you for the experiment
These were my “hits”:
My first impression was that she had a sad childhood and there was some loss. Her father left
The word butcher came into my mind so I don’t know if a past relative was a butcher? This was interesting. First off – zero judgement here on abortion just noticing how information processed for me with this reading. My introduction to abortion was a film in my private catholic school which showed an extremely graphic late term abortion. I remember thinking it was “butchering” a child. That must be how I made the association for this reading.
Divorced
I saw/heard the word “rising” so I don’t know if that meant she has risen and is dead or she rose on the career success ladder? Could have meant rising in public matters and attention. Also that she died.
I got the feeling that she was very hard on herself and judge mental and later developed her faith. There was lots of judgment flying around her life – both internally and externally and her faith focus came later in life.
There were almost just as many “mis hits” so I’ll have to explore that some.
I assumed she was a lesbian yet didn’t write that because I thought it was more based on physical appearance. I’ll need to learn to tell the difference.
I am eager for the next reading photo opportunity. Helping me become more brave to try reading.
I felt that she was a nurse and worked with or for children !!
Well I tried to pick up on her life though I was unable to. The only thing came to mind that she had five children – I was way off. I thought the picture looked like she was in her fifties.
Thanks for setting up the experiment. I much enjoyed participating, considering the contributions and finally reading about the subject. Have a wonderful stay in Dorset, Anna!
I got coldness, high government, and NO CHILDREN, NO CHILDREN over and over.
My “HIT” was that she was deeply religious, Catholic Faith. I wonder though, if she used & wore Mary Kay Cosmetics? I enjoyed this experiment and I look forward to participating in future experiments. Thanks Anna! xo
I am so glad cause my reading wasn’t quite extensive but accurate:
“To me this is a gentle and lovely but strong woman, dead, she preferred women rather than men. I would like to talk with her in a party. She is admirable.”
Thank you Anna this spanish follower has gained self confidence due to this game you made.
My immediate thoughts were ‘something to do with law and court but not a lawyer. Something large, dark and heavy…like a dense black shadow surrounding this legal situation. A writer…a book written’ then I told myself I was being fanciful and switched myself off. I do this al the time and each time am amazed to find I was on the right track. I think I need to learn to trust myself a whole lot more.
I tried to focus my usual way which usually gives me a variety of info, however, I only got one, very loud word…Mother. Every time I tried to focus, again, one word…MOTHER.
Thanks for the experiment. I got a few things about her correct but not in exact detail. Such as I saw books but couldn’t pin point she was a author. Abuse I saw but not sure if it was her. Criminal justice or court rooms I saw but couldn’t connect it with abortion rights or a case.
The first thought I had was babies, however I had no inkling as to how it was linked to her. Then children connecting it with abuse, some association with church, saw her as a speaker for women’s issues (but couldn’t specify what), adoption, depression and loss of money. I also thought she died an unhappy death.
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I just tried the intuitive experiment of Norma. What popped out promptly is how sad she was. Also, the name Norma Jean aka Marilyn Monroe, both public figures, both legal pseudo names and both dead before their time. Also, she had become pregnant multiple times due to her desperate need for affection more than anything else. After she saw a 10 week old fetes picture, her heart hurt and her heart broke. Call it what you want~ heart failure was and is a broken heart. And her cross to bear: wood, also her husband’s nickname.
Lots of us seemed to pick up on her connection with the law. This was such an interesting experiment and I think we were all dying to know who this lady was. Thank you for giving us the chance to see if we could read this lady.
Wow, well, way off for my first time! I’ve always thought I had a strong intuition for whether a person was alive or not looking at their picture, so much for that! I’m looking forward to trying again!!
This was my original intuitive prediction: “I see a base clef (musical symbol) or a giant ear shape (or maybe “S”) superimposed on her head.”
OMG today I realised that the curly shape I saw superimposed on Norma’s head was possibly the shape of a foetus. But instead of seeing a foetus, I saw the intuitive clue as an ear, “S” or base clef.
Apparently Norma saw a poster showing a 10-week old foetus and the foetal image stuck in her head. This image was reported as one of the reasons why Norma changed sides from pro-choice to pro-life.
Maybe I tuned into this foetal picture that was critical to her changing her opinion, except that I couldn’t pick that the curly shape was a foetus.
This same problem with interpretation also occurred with my intuitive clue where I saw Norma ‘counting money’. I interpreted this clue as Norma being wealthy or working in finance, banking, or accounting. After some reading online, I discovered that Norma was NOT wealthy, and instead quite often struggled for money. So my picture clue of Norma counting money meant she was counting her money because she was poor and didn’t have much.
My question is – how can I decipher the specific meanings of my intuitive hits? Especially when I get clues that can be interpreted in many different ways. HELP please? Do I just need more practice?
I’ve attempted (and thoroughly enjoyed) all of these intuitive experiments with varying accuracy and success – thanks Anna 🙂
What I’ve discovered is that my higher self or my guide is a Movie Buff! As I always get intuitive clues that involve movie titles, movie characters or actors. Does anyone else get movie clues?
For this current experiment my movie clue was “Shawshank Redemption”. The redemption part of the movie name indicating religion. While the actual movie revolved around a main character who was framed, wrongly accused, imprisoned, and while in prison, was abused and taken advantage of by others. Which closely resembled Norma’s life where her mother was abusive and set Norma up to inadvertently sign away parenting rights of Norma’s first child. While the two lawyers reportedly USED Norma as “Jane Roe” to advance their own pro-choice ambitions through the court system.
Besides movie clues, I also see images and symbols, hear phrases or noises, feel emotions, and experience physical sensations. I’m pretty good with locations but names are difficult to hear, especially foreign names!
Thanks again Anna for these wonderful opportunities. xx
First instinct, was the word “Judge”, this was awareness for me!
This experiment was interesting. I looked at her picture and without meditation I listened to my first thoughts. The Law, writer, born a man, caring and helps children.
I think the man part I picked up because of her sexual orientation.
I picked up key words, turned out to be relevant:
Law
Children
Troubled
No longer living
** not bad for my for first time with this excerise
Well done everyone on these intuitive hits! Glad you enjoyed the experiment.
Mon – Perhaps for the next experiment, you can draw two columns on a piece of paper – the first could be what you pick up and the second, how you are interpreting it/think it should be interpreted. Interpretation is tricky and sometimes info does not require much interpretation. E.g. when I have received mediumship info for people, I often tie myself up in knots trying to interpret it so I have learned to just pass on what I see, know, feel or hear, as it is, with no interpretation and it makes more sense to people that way. Because sometimes I am picking up info regarding a matter of which I have no actual knowledge.
Doing that might help you to see patterns with your interpretations.
I’m a bit late ,I just went back to check what I posted on the experiment but it’s not vetted yet , this is very interesting to read of roe vs wade as an Australian I had never read of this ,of course I’d heard it mentioned but had never looked into it , anyway as I recall my impressions ,I found her very guarded / blocked and could not get family or domestic or surrounding images at all ,
I definitely picked up on dishonesty and evangelical or religion ,I did think it was in a scam or con of sorts but her flipping from one extreme to the opposite position shows me why I felt this way , , I definitely had a big connection medically , I see that as the multi storey hospital that I had visioned with her , I jumped straight into this one in a rush as I thought I’d missed it and the link could shut before I’d finished my comment so I’m pleased with my read as I really rushed it , thanks , as always for providing these eperiments anna
My first try. I knew she was Jane Roe and she had died. I am using a kindle. I placed my hand over her face and then just looked at the picture. My impressions came as thoughts as follows; she has little softness about her, she is a nurse, there is sadness about her, she is disciplined, she had no children or was not a good mother.
HI Anna
Thanks for your tips and feedback 🙂
I already do the two column approach and find it extremely useful.
Also I have two notebooks filled with repeating symbols and themes from my readings here and my interpretations that I update each time I try one of your fabulous experiments.
What I found most useful from your feedback is: “sometimes I am picking up info regarding a matter of which I have no actual knowledge.” This comment of yours made complete sense to me and it actually highlights a big difference between doing these experiments and reading for real live person. For the experiments we can only use your results page and Mrs Google to help with our interpretations. Whereas when interpreting for a real person (like you said), the person can do the interpretation for you.
When I comment on these experiments sometimes I list the symbols and intuitive clues, and sometimes I also add my interpretations. Because otherwise my readings would read like a list of cryptic clues!
Thank you Anna x
I’m way late to this, but my first impressions of her were “women’s rights” and “trauma/abuse”. I’m excited to see how accurate my impressions were, though sad for her experience. Wow, what a life.