ROE v. WADE, DOE v. BOLTON BACK TO COURTS

Contact: Laura Parker
Phone: (210) 614-7157 X204

March 15, 2000

Norma McCorvey, “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade, and Sandra Cano, "Mary Doe" of Doe v. Bolton, the companion case to Roe v. Wade, will return to court for the first time since their Supreme Court decisions 27 years ago to fight for the right of women to have a relationship with their child and to be fully informed about the effects of abortion. A press conference will be held in Washington D.C. at the National Press Club (14th and F sts.) March 15, at 10:00 a.m. in the Zenger Room. Both women, represented by the Texas Justice Foundation, are filing an affadavit and Amicus Curiae brief (Friend of the Court) in Santa Marie v. Whitman (Civil Action #99-2692 (GEB)) in U.S. District Court in New Jersey to help a young woman who was forced to have an abortion against her will, and two who were not fully informed, but who cannot sue their doctors because the abortion industry receives greater protection than women.

The case seeks to protect women from coercive abortions, to ensure that women are fully informed of the nature and consequences of abortion, and to give women equal protection under the law by protecting the mother-child relationship. They speak for poor, uneducated, pregnant women who have suffered hardships and want the court to know that current abortion laws protect the abortion industry but do not adequately protect women. In their brief they argue:

Current law and practices of the abortion industry do not adequately inform women of the nature and the consequences of abortion, and therefore injure and fail to protect women.

In order to make a truly informed decision and give adequate consent for an abortion, the woman must understand:

One of the most important legal interests a woman has is her interest in the legal protection of the mother-child relationship. Current law and practices of the abortion industry do not provide equal protection for women by protecting the mother-child relationship to the same extent as the law does outside the abortion context. For example:

Pregnant women cannot voluntarily terminate their mother-child relationship and place the child for adoption, until the baby has been born alive and the mother has the opportunity to view the baby and make a fully informed decision.

Even women who abuse or neglect their children are afforded extensive due process protections before their right to the mother-child relationship can be terminated.

Women who wish to terminate their mother-child relationship through abortion are denied these due process protections.

Women considering terminating the mother-child relationship, either through abortion, adoption or abandonment, must not only be given equal protection under the law but also more assistance and help for the protection and nurture of the mother and the child.

McCorvey and Cano are being represented by Allan E. Parker, Jr., President of the Texas Justice Foundation and a team of attorneys consisting of Jimmy D. “Skip” Hulett, Director of Litigation and former Family Court Judge, Kathleen A. Cassidy, Terry George, and Professor Clayton Trotter of Trinity University.The lead attorney in Santa Marie v. Whitman is Harold Cassidy, whose litigation includes the landmark Baby M case representing the birth mother in the first case in the U.S. to strike down surrogate parenting contracts as exploitive of women. He is with Cassidy, Messina and Laffery, (732) 332-9300.

To schedule an interview with an attorney, please contact the Texas Justice Foundation (210) 614-7157. A detailed summary of the arguments made in the brief, and copies of the affidavits of McCorvey and Cano are also available upon request.

Texas Justice Foundation is a non-profit, public interest litigation group representing people at no charge in cases of limited government, free markets, private property rights, and parental rights.