Full Bio — 'The Family Roe: An American Story'

The story of Roe v. Wade is understood to be one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century. But now that the case has been overturned by the current Supreme Court, what does the story of the case, and the people who were involved, mean to how we think about abortion in the United States today? 

For the latest installment of our ongoing Full Bio series, we spoke with Joshua Prager, author of the biography about the family of Jane Roe, called, The Family Roe: An American Story. We wanted to learn more about the the history and context of Roe v. Wade in order to understand the news today. Here you can listen to all four parts of our interview.

• The Family Roe, Part 1: The early life of the woman who became Jane Roe in the Supreme Court case, Norma McCorvey.
• The Family Roe, Part 2: The life of the lawyers who would represent Norma McCorvey in front of the Supreme Court, and how McCorvey came to be the woman the lawyers chose as the plaintiff to attempt to legalize abortion.
• The Family Roe, Part 3: The culture of America post-Roe v. Wade, and how people on both sides of the issue continued to fight for or against the decision, including the story of two doctors who fell on different sides of the issue, Mildred Jefferson and Curtis Boyd.
• The Family Roe, Part 4: The later life of Jane Roe, Norma McCorvey, and how her opinions of abortion changed as she aged. Plus, we reflect on how the story of Roe v. Wade is different now that it has been overturned by the Supreme Court, and what it could mean for the future of civil rights in the United States.