{"id":224477,"date":"2020-06-04T17:16:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T22:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=224477"},"modified":"2020-06-03T23:52:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T04:52:59","slug":"jane-roe-filmmakers-accused-pro-lifers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/jane-roe-filmmakers-accused-pro-lifers\/","title":{"rendered":"‘AKA Jane Roe’ filmmakers falsely accused pro-lifers of paying off Norma McCorvey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The filmmakers behind the FX documentary “AKA Jane Roe” have falsely suggested that the pro-life movement paid Norma McCorvey — “Jane Roe” of the Roe v. Wade<\/em> Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States — over $450,000 to defect to the pro-life side. These same filmmakers failed to declare potential conflicts of interest and disclose their own\u00a0abortion bias<\/a> as well as their previous ties to Planned Parenthood. They also\u00a0failed<\/a> to speak with numerous pro-life leaders and close friends of McCorvey for the film, and instead took the word of the once pro-life, now pro-abortion Rev. Rob Schenck. This false narrative suggested that any compensation McCorvey received for sharing her pro-life conversion and opposition to abortion was ‘proof’ that McCorvey never converted but was instead paid off.<\/p>\n

Examples of these misleading claims in the media include The Daily Beast\u00a0headline<\/a>: “Jane Roe\u2019s Deathbed Confession: Anti-Abortion Conversion \u2018All an Act\u2019 Paid for by the Christian Right,” as well as the UK Daily Mail headline<\/a>:\u00a0“Evangelical reverend ADMITS he paid ‘Jane Roe’ $450,000 – including handfuls of $100 bills – because she was a ‘symbol anti-abortion movement could not afford to lose.'”<\/p>\n

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Screenshots from the Daily Beast and the UK Daily Mail<\/p><\/div>\n

Schenck’s accusation of the alleged “pay-off<\/a>” elevated him to hero status by the filmmakers who then quickly — and without apparent confirmation — rushed to paint pro-lifers as the villains.\u00a0Meanwhile, if any wrongdoing or unethical conduct had occurred, it was Schenck and Schenck alone who has openly admitted to doing it. He\u00a0told<\/a> the Daily Mail, “I had an organization called Faith and Action and we cut checks to Norma McCorvey — quite a few checks over the years.”<\/p>\n

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Rev. Rob Schenck (Image: FX Documentary AKA Jane Roe)<\/p><\/div>\n

Faith and Action is a program<\/a>\u00a0(or D\/B\/A<\/a>)\u00a0of a separate\u00a0D.C. charity<\/a>\u00a0operated by\u00a0Schenck and his twin brother, Catholic Rev. Paul Schenck, called P&R Schenck Associates in Evangelism, Inc.<\/p>\n

Schenck’s own non-profit 990 tax forms<\/a>\u00a0do not<\/em> confirm that Schenck legally contributed to McCorvey’s charity\u00a0— something FX filmmakers failed to clarify. Live Action News spoke to Peggy Nienaber, who worked with Schenck for 15 years.\u00a0She described McCorvey as a woman who “lived a life that was complex, full of twists and turns” and who regularly spoke about her guilt over Roe v. Wade<\/em>. “The Pro-Life Movement did not use Norma. They respected her and supported her through her trials and were joyful of her conversion to Christ,” Nienaber told Live Action News.<\/p>\n

Nienaber pointed out that Schenck’s organization sometimes invited multiple speakers to D.C. and would, like any other charity, compensate them for expenses. “I remember Norma being paid as we did for all our speakers, pastors, and guests. Our guest speakers would often have expenses paid such as hotel, travel, meals, etc. I personally did not handle finances at the time but it was not unusual to compensate speakers for time and efforts,” Nienaber said.<\/p>\n

So, how did FX filmmakers draw their conclusion that pro-life groups paid McCorvey off?<\/p>\n

The filmmakers focused solely on gross receipts filed by McCorvey’s ministry,\u00a0Roe No More Ministry, Inc.<\/a>,\u00a0shown in the images below. Simply put, to get to the $450,000 figure, FX tallied up “gross receipts” from 1998 to 2006 (nine years), using tax documents (990 forms) filed by McCorvey’s non-profit. Gross receipts are total contributions to a non-profit. This money is then spent on a variety of expenses and programs including individual compensation.<\/p>\n

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Screenshots of “AKA Jane Roe” claim that pro-life groups allegedly paid McCorvey $450K. Image: FX Documentary<\/p><\/div>\n

Live Action News discovered that although McCorvey left<\/a> the abortion industry in 1995, her non-profit wasn’t formed until years later. This alone contradicts published claims that say she was paid to leave the abortion movement.<\/p>\n

Below are gross receipts by year:<\/p>\n