Rob Schenck

Schenck later stated that he was once part of a group that paid Norma McCorvey (1947–2017) — also known as Jane Roe in the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision — to lie and say that she had changed her mind and joined anti-abortion movements.

Robert Leonard Schenck (born 1958) is an American Evangelical clergyman who has ministered to elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C. and serves as president of a non-profit organization named for Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Robert Lenard Schenck and his identical twin brother, Paul, were born in 1958 in Montclair, New Jersey, to Chaim "Henry Paul" Schenck and Marjorie (née Apgar) Schenck.

Schenck was named after his father's older brother who was a decorated B-17 bomber pilot in World War II and who lost his life in an air crash while serving in the Korean War.

Schenck's father was born Jewish, raised in Manhattan and attended a Reform Temple on Long Island, and Schenck's mother was born Catholic in Brooklyn, raised non-religious (she converted to Judaism when marrying his father), and grew up in Northern New Jersey.

Schenck grew up in Grand Island, New York.

As a self-described "rebellious teen", Schenck became involved in risky behavior.

Then in 1974 at the age of 16, the boys became acquainted with the son of a United Methodist minister serving the Trinity United Methodist Church in Grand Island.

After Paul was introduced to a circle of young, religious Christians, he decided to become a Christian.

Schenck accompanied his brother to prayer meetings, and soon converted as well.

Both brothers were baptized in the waters of the Niagara River, which forms the borders of Grand Island.

While attending a youth prayer group in Grand Island, Schenck met Cheryl Smith, whom he married in 1977 after graduating from Grand Island High School.

They have two children.

While he visited Mexico City in 1982, he became aware of the plight of the "dump people".

In 1988, Schenck, an Assembly of God minister took a long-distance walk to help people in Mexico who live and work in garbage dumps.

In 1992, during Buffalo's large-scale abortion clinic demonstrations, Schenck grabbed national and worldwide attention when photos and video were shot of him cradling a preserved human fetus given the name "Tia" by a black anti-abortion group because the fetus was believed to be African-American.

Much was written and aired about the event.

In an opinion editorial in the June 15 Buffalo News, Schenck responded to the criticism.

According to the op-ed, Schenck believed that pro-choice supporters ignored the truth in favor of ideology, and conversely he believed that the fetus demonstrated the truth of his own views.

"Most have never seen an abortion, let alone the result of it. Baby Tia takes the argument out of the abstract and into reality."

Schenck founded the organization Faith and Action in 1995 and led it until 2018.

In 1995, Schenck organized the first National Memorial for the Preborn and their Mothers and Fathers, a religious service in opposition to abortion.

This event was held inside the US Capitol complex in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by the National Pro-Life Religious Council.

Schenck took a 2000 mi walk from Buffalo, NY, through eight states and crossed the border at Laredo, Texas.

He hoped to raise $1 million to build a clinic and recruit volunteers willing to help provide medical, dental, and construction services.

As of 2003, Schenck was a member of the National Pro-Life Religious Council.

He participated in the events surrounding Terri Schiavo's death.

Schenck traveled to Florida to try to prevent Schiavo from being allowed to die and publicly called for police to prevent the same.

He was also a signatory of a letter to President George Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by national anti-abortion leaders.

In 2005, Faith and Action served as a clearinghouse for donations to the family of Susan Torres, a brain-dead pregnant woman being kept on life support so that she could give birth.

Some time after 2010, Schenck changed his mind about abortion, stating that banning abortion would cause more harm than good, and opposed the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

From 2012 to 2016, Schenck served as chairman of the board of directors of the Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA).

He was also chairman of ECA's Committee for Church and Society, the social witness arm of the alliance of ministers.

He is the subject of the Emmy Award-winning 2016 Abigail Disney documentary, The Armor of Light.

Schenck stated that he was part of a group that paid Norma McCorvey (also known as Jane Roe from the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision) to lie that she had changed her mind and become against abortion.

Once a prominent anti-abortion activist, Schenck has since repudiated this work and expressed support for the legality of abortion.

In 2022, Schenck testified before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his allegation that a member of the Supreme Court leaked information about a pending case before the Court.

In 2018, he became an advisor to the Office of the Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).

He concludes his May 31, 2019, Op-Ed for the New York Times "No doubt, many of my former allies will call me a turncoat. I don’t see it that way. I still believe that every abortion is a tragedy and that when a woman is pregnant, bringing the child into the world is always ideal. Reality, though, is different from fantasy. I wish every child could be fully nurtured and cared for, and could experience all the wonderful possibilities that life can offer."

Having denounced the anti-abortion movement in 2019, Schenck stated in the 2020 documentary AKA Jane Roethat McCorvey was paid to pose as an anti-abortion rights activist and that "What we did with Norma was highly unethical".