Norma McCorvey Interview 1997

The following interview was conducted by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life with Norma McCorvey in August of 1997, as part of the third Defending Life television series currently airing on the Eternal Word Television Network.

 

1. Norma, many viewers are aware of the story of how the Jane Roe of Roe vs. Wade became a prolifer and a Christian. But would you briefly review for us again how that happened?

God set me up! I didn't have a chance, really. I was long since tired of my lifestyle, I saw the emptiness of false New Age spirituality, and I couldn't stand the people in the abortion industry! I got tired of watching women being lied to and deceived as doctors got rich and abortion advocates got their photos and names in the newspapers. Deep in my gut, I knew it was wrong, but I was still blinded to the truth.

When O.R. moved next door, I finally saw a way out. Love was a foreign concept to me. I come from a dysfunctional home, I've had some nightmares that substituted for relationships, but here I found a group of people who really cared for me. Once I saw the love in their hearts, I was willing to reconsider the God they believed in. A precious 7-year-old girl named Emily invited me to church, and God hasn't let go of me since. My full pro-life conversion came just a few weeks after my spiritual conversion. I found a poster in the O.R. offices that showed fetal development, and it was like the blinders in my eves suddenly fell off. I looked at those unborn children and said to myself. "That's a baby." Suddenly, it was as clear as day. I had given birth to three children and counseled hundreds of pregnant women, but the truth never penetrated my heart until then.

 

2. The year 1998 is the 25th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. As pro-abortion people celebrate it, what should Christians do?

First, they should continue to speak out against the wrong of abortion. We are told in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 3, that unless we warn the evildoers that what they're doing is wrong, their judgment could fall on our heads. Regardless of the popularity of abortion, we can never grow tired in giving testimony against it.

Second, we can help those most vulnerable to abortion by volunteering our time and money to local crisis pregnancy centers. One study showed that 90% of the women who had gotten abortion said they would have chosen an alternative if a viable one had been available. We need to reach out to these women one by one, and win them by love.

Third, though the political landscape doesn't look good, we mustn't grow weary in representing the unborn before the government bodies. The Bible tells us, "Don't grow weary in doing good," so we need to continue to work for laws that will protect the unborn.

Finally, we need to pray. Every major social movement has taken many decades for victory to be realized. Our prayers should be even more fervent and frequent today.

 

3. Do you see the tide in America turning away from abortion, or falling more deeply into it?

I'm afraid that legalized abortion has become an accepted practice in our society. On many college campuses, there isn't even much debate; only a very vocal minority oppose it. The proabortion rhetoric which sidestepped abortion by talking about choice has been very, very effective.

Remember, you have to be in your mid to late thirties to remember an America in which abortion was illegal. If you're 35, abortion has been legal since you were 10 years old. The law, unfortunately in this case, had a teaching effect, and many have become persuaded that if its legal it must be okay.

 

4. I understand you have a new book coming out. Tell us about it, and how people can eventually obtain it.

The book is called Won By Love, and it will be available this coming January in all Christian bookstores, and many secular bookstores as well. Any store could order it if they don't carry it. People can also order it directly from Roe No More ministries by calling 972-414-9104.

The book is the story of my spiritual and prolife conversion. It starts out with my reaction to O.R. moving next door--I'm very honest in this book, believe me, and some of your listeners may not like me that much until they get to the later chapters! And then I simply recount the events as they happened--how God used people to soften my heart and open me up to the truth.

It's a book that should interest anyone who's been through tough times and who needs an inspirational story. It should also interest anyone who wants an inside view of the abortion industry and abortion politics. I don't spare names and I don't spare details. I tell it all. The world needs to know what's going on behind closed doors!

And then I get to the inspirational part--my favorite--when I get to tell about actually giving my heart to Jesus and later becoming a part of the profile movement.

It' s a book where I expect the reader will laugh, cry, get angry, and finally, I hope, thank God. We've worked very hard to make it a very fast-paced, readable book, and I think we've succeeded.

 

5. What do you currently do in your efforts to advance the protection of preborn children?

For two years, I gave my time to Operation Rescue. While I grew in the Lord, I did data entry, answered the phones, and cleaned the coffee cups! More recently, I've begun to speak out more publicly. I'm now getting requests to give my testimony all over the place, which I'm eager to do.

A video of my conversion, Reversing Roe, has gone out to thousands. I personally took 9 copies to the Supreme Court, hoping to help undo some of the damage I did over 25 years ago by allowing my name to go on the affidavit. I've also taken the liberty of personally writing to our President, and to other world figures, such as Nelson Mandela, telling them of my change of mind and hoping they would change theirs as well.

My upcoming book, Won By Love will take this testimony a step further. In it, I expose the abortion industry for what it is and I bear witness to the power of love to reach even those who were most entrenched in the abortion culture.

 

6. As you know, some Christians think they can follow Jesus and still allow abortion. What do you say to them?

Jesus is the author of life. The Gospel of John tells us that all things were created through Him. How can we destroy what Jesus has made and then say we're following Him? It's a lie. The simple fact that Jesus created this life should be enough to tell us that Jesus wants that life to exist. This is not rocket science. For us to go in and kill that child is to look Jesus in the face and say, "I don't want this. I won't accept it. You created it, but I'm going to kill it."

All of our words become meaningless if our actions speak otherwise. In John 10, Jesus says Satan, the thief, comes to steal, kill and destroy, but that Jesus has come to give life, and life abundantly. You know whose side you're on by how you treat life--giving life or taking life.

If somebody has a problem with that, they have to take it up with the Bible. I didn't write the Bible, I just read it, and that's what the Bible says!

 

7. Norma, please say a word to women tempted to have an abortion, and to those suffering from the pain of having had one in the past.

You know, Father, I think Sarah Weddington's reaction would be a good one for women to consider. One of the reasons I think Sarah and I didn't get along so well is that she knew she could never be reconciled with her baby, because she had it killed in a Mexican abortion clinic. My child--no thanks to me, but thanks to God--managed to survive the pregnancy, and someday, I hope to have a renewed relationship with her. I think, in some ways, that Sarah might have been jealous of that. Though she had all the money, power, education, and fame that I never had, the one thing she didn't have was a live birth, and I think it might bother her to this day.

Abortion is final, Father. A child can't be healed of a successful abortion. The child is dead. And you will never be able to undo that.

For women who have had an abortion, there's nothing I can say, unfortunately, in 60 seconds or less that will undo their pain. But what I can do is urge them to get biblical counseling and help. You know, less than 2% of the women who have had an abortion have ever talked to their pastor about it? That's sad. After my conversion, I went through a Bible study called A Time to Heal. Though I never had an abortion, there were many things I needed healing for. A Time to Heal is based on the popular post-abortion Bible study, Women in Ramah, available through Care Net (703-478-5661). I urge every woman who has suffered an abortion to call Care Net and get the healing she needs. You owe it to yourself, to your husband, and to your other children. Please, get well in the Lord. Don't carry that pain all your life. Jesus died to take it away, but you need to learn how to let Him do that.

 

8. Tell us about the forgiveness Jesus offers to those who, like yourself, used to be on the side of the abortion movement but now have learned what is right.

Listen, if God can forgive Jane Roe, who can't He forgive? I started this whole thing off, after all, and then I made it even worse by personally assisting in many abortions. The pain was so great I became addicted to drugs. I felt alienated from children, and I was a lonely, hurting person.

God took all that away. Today, I love to be around children. I'm free of drugs. God is removing the shame. He doesn't see me as Jane Roe, He sees me as Norma McCorvey. Remember, Saul murdered many Christians, yet God called him to become the apostle Paul. Paul then wrote a good bit of the New Testament. In the same way, God is taking many of those who once destroyed unborn life and turning them into life's biggest defenders. So what do I say? Come on over and join us!

 

9. What is the best way we can bring people out of the abortion industry and the "prochoice" movement?

There isn't one way. If you read the stories of Bernard Nathanson, Carol Everett, myself and others, you'll find God uses many different methods.

Both Carol and I were most strongly affected when a Christian loved us out of the proabortion movement. In most cases, that's the best way. Somebody like a Bernard Nathanson may need a whole list of medical arguments to convince them, but many of us within the movement were simply hurting, desperate people, hungry for God's love.

The title of my book says it all: ''Won By Love." Somebody took the time to get to know me personally. Ronda's husband actually bought me some computer software, and Ronda let me spend time with her daughter. You can't write a "how to'' book to describe those activities. They simply decided to get involved in my life, even though we were supposed to be political enemies. Once I had something to compare the proabortion movement to, there was no way I could stay in that industry.

The final thing I would like to say about this, again, is the importance of prayer. This is spiritual warfare. It's a battle. I can't tell you how many people have told me they were praying for me. One woman whom I didn't even know wrote to tell me that she had my picture in her Bible and that she had prayed for me every day! God answers prayer. My conversion is proof of that.

Priests for Life
PO Box 141172
Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. 888-PFL-3448, (718) 980-4400
Fax 718-980-6515
Email mail@priestsforlife.org

Subscribe to Fr. Frank's bi-weekly prolife column (free): subscribe@priestsforlife.org 

Home
Search  || Crisis Pregnancy Help || About Us ll Support our Work
Latest News  || Guestbook || About Other Groups

This site is updated daily!