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Norma McCorvey, central figure of Roe v. Wade abortion decision, dies at 69

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, is flanked by The Reverend Robert L. Schenck of the National Clergy Council, left, and The Rev. Phillip Benham of Operation Rescue National  in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Jan. 21, 1996.

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk

KATY, Texas — Norma McCorvey, who was the central figure in the country's landmark legal case on abortion, has died at the age of 69.

McCorvey died Saturday from a heart ailment, according to The Washington Post.

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McCorvey was plaintiff Jane Roe in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right to an abortion. Later in life, she became a born-again Christian, was associated with the pro-life group Operation Rescue and announced that she opposed abortion after the first trimester.

She wrote two memoirs and in 2009, was arrested at a protest during hearings on Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Cox Media Group

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