For Immediate Release July 1, 2002 For more information, contact: (214) 343-1069  Dallas, Texas – Norma McCorvey, the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, today commented about the recent decision of the 9th district court of appeals in San Francisco.  McCorvey said, “Today is a dark day in history.  Even though the court has, most recently, placed a stay on their decision that the words ‘under God’ are unconstitutional, a door has been opened that is not easily shut.  I ask today, where the ACLU is in these cases – they are not here when the traditions of this country are stomped on.  The bottom line is that a tradition, a way of professing our allegiance, and our belief in this country has been drastically hurt by the court’s decision.  In short, we are in big trouble, if this ruling stands.  This decision, I believe, is a step in the wrong direction – it furthers the idea that as citizens we should be ashamed or afraid of our faith.  In 1962, in Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer should be removed from all schools.  This decision was the beginning of what I believe led the San Francisco court to decide the way they did.  In many ways, this day reminds me of another dark day in our history, namely, January 22, 1973, when in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court decided that it was the constitutional right of women to abort their children in uteri.  At the time, I believed that it was right – but I did not know what I was doing, I did not fully understand what would come of my actions in pursing an abortion.  Little did I know that it would lead to the legalization of abortion in America, nor did I know that it would lead to what we now call partial-birth abortion.  But by the power of God, by the power of His Word, I was able to free myself of the belief that we ourselves are gods, and that we alone can decide the fate of ourselves and our children.  I am living proof that this is not true and will never be true.  If we allow decisions like Roe v. Wade and the recent San Francisco decision to go unnoticed, we too, will be responsible for the demise of America.  The fact of the matter is that there seems to be a growing tradition of rigid political correctedness because of which we are losing what little faith, and what little tradition we have as a believing society.  Indeed, today is a dark day in history, just as January 22, 1973 was.  I return to Scripture as a source of strength: in Genesis, He writes that God is the Creator of all things from conception until natural death.  He also instructed us to go forth and multiply, to teach our children, and to glorify His name, for it is through Him that we have eternal life.  This instruction and this instruction alone is what guides the believers in our country.  The decision that the words ‘under God’ are unconstitutional only goes to prove the direction that our courts are going and have been going since 1962.  I am happy to be here, however, as someone who has been won by love and will forever be on the side of God.