In 1970, Sandra Cano was in a complicated marriage, had two children in foster care and was pregnant. She was poor, uneducated and in her own words “ignorant…..[and[ in survival state.”  She went to Atlanta Legal Aid for assistance with a divorce and had no option but to trust the help offered to her.  Little did she know that her story and her person would be used to create a Party-Plaintiff for the companion case to Roe v. Wade  called Doe v. Bolton.

Along with Roe v. Wad e, the Supreme Court entered an order in  Doe v. Bolton  which struck down several Georgia laws restricting abortion.  Doe v. Bolton expanded the definition of the “health of the mother” justification for abortion and vastly broadened the rationale a party could use to obtain an abortion.

According to Sandra, she never sought an abortion nor did she want to kill her baby.  In fact, before 1973, Sandra fled from Georgia to Oklahoma because she believed she would be forced to seek an abortion by the attorney or someone involved with her case.  Throughout the rest of her life, she would argue against the facts and outcome of Doe v. Bolton , seeking for the truth to be known – and for that truth to undo the evil of  Doe v. Bolton.

Sandra carried the pain and guilt of what happened in 1973, but she was resilient in seeking to undo the fraud and injustice.  She is a testimony to us all to never give up, to not let guilt silence us, and to not let the people who fight against us steal our commitment to what is right!

Sandra passed away on September 30, 2014.

We honor her as our January 2016 Pro-Life Hero. May she rest in Peace!