The name Norma McCorvey may not be a name you know, but there is little doubt you know her “other” name, the one assigned to her by the courts and immortalized forever by the Supreme Court of the United States: Roe. As in Jane Roe. Of Roe v. Wade.
Norma McCorvey’s name has been in the media again in recent days. A documentary about her life is scheduled to be released soon and in this documentary are some supposedly shocking revelations. One of those revelations: She was paid by pro-life Christian activists to lie about her position on abortion later in life. If this is true, it is not only sad, but wrong. And it needs to be addressed and understood by Christians so that it never happens again.
To understand how Norma McCorvey ended up being a spokesperson for the pro-life cause, one must understand something of her story and the political climate in which she was pursued and used. Yes. McCorvey was used by both sides of an extremely important moral argument regarding abortion in the United States at different times in her troubled life. She was first used by the pro-death activists to get what they wanted out of her and then, it seems, she was used later in life by the pro-life movement to get what it wanted out of her. The entire story is one worth considering. It is a lesson about the dangers of Christians using the tools of publicity to achieve goals that can only be achieved by the power of God.
The saga of Norma McCorvey, who was to become Jane Roe, began with a troubled childhood. By the time she was 21, Norma had become pregnant for a third time and sought to end her pregnancy by abortion. However, she had a problem. She lived in Texas, and Texas had laws in place that protected the life of the unborn and prohibited almost all abortions. She was referred to lawyers who were looking for women seeking abortions; those lawyers wanted to initiate a lawsuit challenging the Texas law and to eventually, perhaps, see their case make it all the way to the Supreme Court. The goal was to override the ability of states to make policy on the topic of abortion.
Suffice it to say, the lawyers, using Norma McCorvey and her situation, achieved their goals. Within three years, the case was before the Supreme Court, and in a fateful and murderous decision, the Court legalized abortion across the United States. Federalism was abandoned and the Court did what no Congress ever could or would do through the legislative process. Norma McCorvey, known to the public only as “Jane Roe” never actually had an abortion–she gave the baby up for adoption–and never appeared at any court proceeding. However, “Jane Roe” would be forever enshrined in American culture, and the impact of the use of her situation would reverberate throughout American society forever.
Norma McCorvey eventually revealed herself as being “Jane Roe” and became something of a celebrity to the pro-death movement. A book appeared in 1994. She would make appearances and occasionally give interviews. Then, stunningly, Norma McCorvey’s life was changed: she became a born-again Christian and repudiated most of her involvement in the Roe v. Wade decision.
But now, a documentary is coming forth that seems to show Norma McCorvey suggesting that her conversion and change of heart regarding abortion was all an act. She claims that she was paid by pro-life groups, and perhaps even Christians, to tell her story. I do not have enough information to evaluate whether these claims are true. I will be looking forward to learning who, exactly, paid her and for what. In the documentary, McCorvey talks about being a good actor, so it is conceivable that she misled pro-life leaders and used them to gain financial support. One can only hope that it is not true that Christians knowingly paid her to lie about her beliefs. I pray to God this is not true.
This leads me to the main point of this post: Why do Christians believe they need publicity in order to make their case? I mean, I get it. We live in a world where media of all kinds are available and used to make arguments in the public square. But there is something fundamentally different about making an argument based on merit, using the media, and using a person and their story to help validate a point. In other words, Christians need to evaluate the ethics of publicity and come to a place of repentance for the way we have all too often relied upon the camera to do only what God can do.
I sincerely hope that Norma McCorvey was saved by Jesus and that she truly did change her views on abortion. I hope that someone was also convinced, through her story, that abortion is wrong. I also sincerely hope that no Christians were involved in knowingly presenting a lie to the world for the sake of any cause, even a cause as important as ending abortion. And I hope that Christians will stop looking to celebrities, including those created by the culture, to validate our arguments for the sanctity of life.
Jesus does not need a conversion or the subsequent publicity surrounding that conversion of anyone in order to propel His Gospel forward. The church of Jesus does not need publicity stunts in order to make its arguments about the sanctity of life. The media should be used, from time to time, to communicate our message, if it can be done with integrity. But the moment publicity overrides our Biblical mandate to be not only ethical, but of the highest standards of ethics and morality, then publicity needs to go.
I am not completely convinced that Christians should not consider stepping away from the cameras and microphones in order to evaluate the ethics of publicity and its effect on the Christian witness. I am convinced that Christians must never use publicity as a substitute for sincerely sharing the Gospel and promoting truth in the public square. We must continue to fight for truth and for life, but may we not fight with the tools of the world (particularly using troubled people) to make our case. Because when that celebrity falls–or repudiates their story about conversion–the entire cause of Christ is hurt in the process.
Let’s stand on truth. And let us consider carefully the ramifications of publicity stunts and their harm to the to name of Christ and His Gospel.