Norma McCorvey, lesbian pioneer of American abortion rights, dies aged 69

Norma McCorvey, the pioneer of American abortion rights has died aged 69.

Using the pseudonym Jane Roe, McCorvey won a landmark legal case that gave women the right to safe and legal abortions.

In 1970, McCorvey was financially unstable and looking for a way out of her unwanted pregnancy, reports the Washington Post.

At the time, abortions were illegal so she took her fight to the Supreme Court.

In 1973, the Court announced its historic 7-to-2 ruling, allowing a constitutional right to privacy that included the choice to terminate a pregnancy.

By the time the ruling was handed down, McCorvey had already given birth to her child and put the baby up for adoption.

Roe v. Wade is still cited in legal proceedings today, with Hillary Clinton referencing it in her campaign debates.

McCorvey identifies as a lesbian but had relationships with both men and women.

Her longest relationship was with Connie Gonzalez for 35 years, but they separated before her death.

Norma McCorvey: ‘I never had a right to choose’

McCorvey embraced the pro-choice movement after her landmark case.

Immediately following the ruling, she became an abortion rights advocate, working with clinics and advocates.

But she became disillusioned with the politics of the movement: ‘I’ve been shunned by quite a few leaders of the pro-choice movement.’

‘People think that I’m just, like, totally stupid and I’m not,’ she said in an interview in 1995.

McCorvey became a born-again Christian soon after and did a complete backflip on her views.

She started actively campaigning for pro-life causes and became the ‘poster girl’ for the movement.

Christians heralded her as a successful conversion to the cause.

‘Upon knowing God, I realized that my case, which legalized abortion under man, was the biggest mistake of my life,’ she said.

McCorvey never really fit in to the pro-life movement either, with many thinking homosexuality immoral.

The debate in America on abortion rights rages on, with Donald Trump threatening to take away choice.

In 2014, a Gallup poll revealed 50% of Americans believe that abortions should be legal under certain circumstances.

28% believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances, and 21% believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.

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