Series I. NORMA MCCORVEY PAPERS, 1938-2007, undated (#1.1-8.2, E.1)
Scope and Contents
Series I, NORMA MCCORVEY PAPERS, 1938-2007, undated (#1.1-8.2, E.1), includes articles, photographs, correspondence, financial records, notebooks and date books, school records, pro-life poetry and songs, journal entries, speeches, court documents and depositions, prayer cards, contact lists, and travel itineraries.
The material in this series documents Norma McCorvey's pro-abortion work during the 1980s and early 1990s, as well as her later work for the pro-life movement during the late 1990s and 2000s. This collection includes material related to McCorvey's 2000 deposition for The Justice Foundation, speeches urging lawmakers to restrict legal abortion, both in the United States and around the world, and travel related to her Roe No More Ministry. These papers also document her baptism as an evangelical Christian, and her later conversion to Catholicism.
The majority of letters in this collection are incoming correspondence; McCorvey only kept her outgoing letters occasionally. Much of the incoming letters are from people who had read her two books. Women share their pregnancy and abortion stories with McCorvey, as well as their joy in hearing of her baptisms. Men also write to congratulate her in finding religion, as well as to comment on her books. Other topics include converting to Catholicism, sin, donations, abortion, the March for Life, and McCorvey's sexuality. McCorvey often noted the date of her response on the envelope.
This series also includes material related to McCorvey's Roe No More Ministry and Crossing Over Ministry. These documents include financial records, travel arrangements for her speaking engagements, as well as incoming and outgoing correspondence. Also found in this series is a screen play written by Alison Cross, titled "An American Story," which became the 1989 made-for-television movie, Roe v. Wade.
Schlesinger Library generally does not retain duplicate material and financial records with little research value. In keeping with this, the following material was returned to Joshua Prager: canceled checks and checkbooks, receipts and invoices not annotated, envelopes that were found empty, duplicate photographs, notebooks belonging to McCorvey's brother Jimmy Nelson, and other material that had been infested with mold.
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Dates
- Creation: 1926-2018
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1989-2007
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Most of the collection is open for research.
Folder #11.10 is closed until January 1, 2050, as specified in the agreement between Joshua Prager and the Schlesinger Library.
Extent
4.8 linear feet ((11 file boxes, 1 half file box) plus 9 photograph folders.)1 Megabytes (1 file)
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.