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‘She was pro-woman. She wanted women to have what they needed to take care of themselves’

It’s been just over a month since Roe v Wade was overturned in the US. But who was the woman behind the landmark ruling?

Jane Roe, or Norma McCorvey, the real person behind the pseudonym, sought an abortion when she became pregnant for the third time in 1969. By the time the court ruled in her favour, effectively legalising abortion, Norma’s pregnancy had ended and she gave birth to her third child.

On ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Emma Barnett heard more about who Norma was from her eldest daughter, Melissa Mills. She shared how her mother would have reacted to the overturning of the ruling and the impact being involved had on her. Listen back to the full interview on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sounds.

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Duration:

2 minutes