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DALLAS, June 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Norma McCorvey, the former "Roe" of Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, is filing an historic motion today to re-open her case and request that it be overturned. The filing is based on changes in law and factual conditions since the high court handed down its decision 30 years ago. As a party to the original litigation, Norma McCorvey may petition the court to re-open the original case based on changes in factual conditions and/or changes in law that make the prior decision "no longer just," said Allan E. Parker Jr., lead attorney for the Texas-based Justice Foundation. The motion will be filed and a news conference held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Ferris Plaza Park on the corner of Houston and Record Streets -- just blocks away from the Earl Cabell Federal Building, where the motion will be filed. The motion attacks the judgment that was first entered exactly 33 years ago today by the Dallas Federal Court. McCorvey is asking that the judgment in the original Roe case be set aside. "I long for the day that justice will be done and the burden from all of these deaths will be removed from my shoulders," McCorvey said. "I want to do everything in my power to help women and their children. The issue is justice for women, justice for unborn, and justice for what is right." The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned its own precedents using Rule 60(b)(5) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 60), most recently in the 1997 decision of Agostini vs. Felton. In that case, the high court used a post-judgment motion by a party to overturn two of its own 12-year-old precedents.
Legal Evidence Entered Into Court
Following are excerpts from the more than 1,000 women who have filed sworn affidavits as part of this Rule 60 court challenge. A copy of the entire record is available in Dallas federal court. (Cities and dates are for abortion, not current residence).
-- "If I imagine what hell is then I say that is how my life was before I found counseling and healing. I became an alcoholic, lost my will to live, hated life in general." Lisa. Eugene, Ore., June 1976, 1980 and 1980.
-- "It has affected me emotionally. I was unable to bond with anyone. I have suffered depression. It caused years of self-destructive behavior." Paula. Cleveland, Ohio, July 1978.
-- "Inability to form deep relationships, guilt, anxiety attacks. For a long time inability to hold or be near babies." Shirley. Los Angeles, Calif., 1982; and, Norway, 1970.
-- "I have had many medical problems that I attribute to having the abortion including pre-term pregnancies, abnormal paps, and abnormal periods." Susan. Fort Worth, Texas, March, 1977.
-- "Had a replacement child in 1979, who recently had her own abortion (06/15/01), also affected my self-esteem and eventually became promiscuous." Kathleen. Port Chester, NY, May 12, 1975; and, Mamaroneck, NY, December 3, 1975.
-- "Emotionally I feel rejected by all. I feel alone." Grace. Jacksonville, NC, 1976.
-- "Years of mood swings, eating disorders, promiscuity, low self-esteem and relationship with my other children." Reatha. Baltimore, Md., November 1979.
-- "I spent years going from relationship to relationship and I became more sexually active. Alienated from family, problems in school, old friends became distant." Maureen. Bridgeport, PA, January, 1978, March, 1979; and, Philadelphia, PA, March, 1979.
-- "Daily sorry and regret over death of my children caused by my own actions." Beverly. Atlanta, GA, 1974 and 1977.
-- "Severe depression, especially in January, knowing my child would be another year older." Wendy. Howell, NJ, 1985.
-- "I have panic disorder, low self esteem which led to promiscuity. I drank and got involved with snorting cocaine. I got HPV, which damaged my cervix -- had surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells. I have colon problems and at risk for breast cancer." Christina Grace. Newark, Del., 1986; and, Dover, Neb., 1988.
-- "Ten years after the abortion I almost had a nervous breakdown. Have suffered emotionally for twenty-five years." D.E., Atlanta, Ga., August 1975.
-- "I felt empty inside for quite some time. I also began the spiral of compulsive eating which has led to extreme obesity." A.D.C.H., San Antonio, Texas, February 22, 1984.
-- "I went from being on the Dean's List in college to getting Fs, incompletes, and withdraws. I attempted suicide. I was depressed. The guilt was overwhelming." H.A.K. Knoxville, Tenn., May 12, 1984.
-- "I have been suicidal, depressed, had extreme anxiety, had nightmares, suffered from grief and self destructive behaviors." Candice. San Diego County, California, March, 1996.
-- "Guilt -- lack of ability to deal adequately with true love and sex in marriage." L.D.M. England, September 1970.
-- "Depression, nightmares, divorce." Darla. Memphis, Tenn., April 1986.
-- "My abortion took away my sense of self-worth and self confidence. It has made me question my ability to make competent decisions." A.C.N. New Orleans, La., 1981.