A pro-life warrior died recently. Sandra Cano came to her activism on behalf of the sanctity of human life in a roundabout way.
Sandra Cano was “Mary Doe” in the companion Supreme Court case to Roe Vs. Wade, Doe vs. Bolton. This case opened the gates for legal abortion at any time during a pregnancy, for any reason. Many pro-life leaders believe Doe was more instrumental than Roe, in ushering in our current legal regime that protects abortion on demand. And yet, Sandra Cano wasn’t even seeking an abortion.
There’s a movie coming out soon about Norma Mc Corvey, Jane Roe in Roe vs. Wade. Like Norma, Sandra Cano was used to file this suit challenging Georgia’s abortion law that helped topple pro-life laws across the country.
The Court’s opinion in Doe v. Bolton stated that a woman may obtain an abortion, even after viability, if necessary to protect her health. Today, most laws restricting abortion lack a health exception because the Supreme Court made such an exception wide enough to drive a Mack truck through. The Doe decision defined “health” to include considerations of physical, emotional, psychological, and familial health, and the woman’s age as acceptable factors to allow abortions. This broadly defined health exception meant a woman could have a late abortion for, essentially, any reason.
Sandra Cano told the Catholic Register, “It’s a nightmare to be connected to a case that I never wanted to be connected to. Doe vs. Bolton allows abortion up to the ninth month.”
A pregnant Cano was seeking a divorce, and trying to get two of her children back from foster care. She went to a legal aid group and, unbeknownst to her, the case was filed on her behalf. She never sought an abortion. Her attorney, in connection with her mother, arranged an abortion for her at Grady Memorial Hospital. The hospital has no records. Sandra said that’s because she never went there. She claimed her lawyer, Margie Pitts Hames, tricked her into signing the affidavit that formed the basis of the plaintiff’s charges in Doe.
Sandra fled to Oklahoma to avoid the pressure to have an abortion. Her attorney managed to persuade her to return and appear in court as a plaintiff in the initial hearing of the Doe case:
“I can’t understand,” said Sandra, “how a case like this could go to the Supreme Court without anyone knowing or speaking to me to find out if what the attorney was presenting to the court was true. I was so ignorant I didn’t know there were two cases that legalized abortion.”
Years later, after putting the pieces together, Sandra Cano experienced tremendous guilt. But she became actively pro-life. She eventually filed a lawsuit attempting to overturn Doe vs. Bolton. That effort was unsuccessful.
Sandra Cano was a pawn used to bring abortion to the nation. Her story highlights what a slimy business abortion really is.