American activist Norma McCorvey, better known by her pseudonym Jane Roe, was BOTD in 1947. Born in Simmesport, Louisiana, she had a turbulent childhood, marked by poverty and physical abuse, and was made a ward of the state aged 10. Married at 16, she left her husband two years later, gave birth to her first child and began identifying as a lesbian. She became pregnant again the following year: both her children were given up for adoption. McCarvey developed an alcohol and drug addiction, and became involved in prostitution and drug dealing. In 1969, she attempted to seek an abortion for a third pregnancy, and was introduced to lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington. The pair filed a lawsuit on her behalf (naming her as “Jane Roe”) challenging Texas’ abortion laws as unconstitutional. In 1973, the Roe v Wade case was appealed to the US Supreme Court. The court upheld a woman’s constitutional right to abortion and struck down state anti-abortion laws. McCorvey gave birth during the trial, again placing the baby up for adoption, later identifying herself in the press as Jane Roe. In the same year, she began a long-term relationship with Connie Gonzalez, living together for 35 years. In 1995, McCarvey converted to evangelical Christianity, publicly expressing remorse for her involvement in Roe v Wade and became an anti-abortion campaigner. She later converted to Catholicism but continued to live with Gonzalez until 2006. She also made an unsuccessful effort to connect with her third daughter. McCarvey died in 2017 aged 69. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, resulting in many American states (including Louisiana and Texas) banning abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and making it a criminal offence to help women procure abortions or contraception.