Mary Doe

(CNSNews.com) – The plaintiff in one of the two famed Supreme Court cases that when combined, legalized abortion during all nine months of pregnancy, announced Monday she was filing a motion to try to have the historic verdict overturned.

Sandra Cano, who was identified only as “Mary Doe” in the 1973 Doe v. Bolton case, is now a pro-life activist, as is Norma McCorvey, the woman referred to as “Jane Roe” in the more famous Roe v. Wade ruling from the same year.

The Doe v. Bolton ruling broadened the health exception for late term abortions, allowing women virtually unfettered access to abortion. The more famous Roe v. Wade verdict, as the companion to Doe v. Bolton, established a legal right to privacy for women seeking abortions during the first two trimesters.

McCorvey has also attempted to have her case overturned, but in June, U.S. District Court Judge David Godby from Texas denied the motion two days after it was filed, ruling that it was not made within a “reasonable time.” Godby’s decision is now under appeal with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Monday, Cano used the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta as the backdrop for her announcement. If Cano’s motion was granted and the Supreme Court eventually reversed its 1973 ruling, states would be able to outlaw abortion once again.

Cano claims her 1973 case was based on lies and deception.

“The truth is that I did not seek or want an abortion. I was young, uninformed and in a difficult situation,” Cano said in an affidavit filed with the motion. “Not once in the process was I given an opportunity to speak, and no judge or attorney in court asked me how I felt about abortion.”
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