Attorney Sarah Weddington, who famously represented Norma McCorvey, a.k.a. “Jane Roe,” in the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, died on Sunday at the age of 76.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, Susan Hays, a former student of Weddington’s and current Texas agriculture commissioner candidate, said Weddington died Sunday morning in Texas due to complications from “health issues.”
“Sarah Weddington died this morning after a series of health issues. With Linda Coffee she filed the first case of her legal career, Roe v. Wade, fresh out of law school. She was my professor at UT, the best writing instructor I ever had, and a great mentor,” announced Hays.
“At 27 she argued Roe to SCOTUS. (A fact that always made me feel like a gross underachiever.). Ironically, she worked on the case because law firms would not hire women in the early 70s, leaving her with lots of time for good trouble,” added Hays.
At 27 she argued Roe to SCOTUS. (A fact that always made me feel like a gross underachiever.). Ironically, she worked on the case because law firms would not hire women in the early 70s, leaving her with lots of time for good trouble. 2/
— Susan Hays (@hays4ag) December 26, 2021
With a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court legalized abortion across the United States in 1973, declaring it a constitutional right. Speaking with the Guardian in 2017 during the confirmation process for Justice Neil Gorsuch, Weddington warned that Roe could be overturned if enough conservative judges were appointed to the Supreme Court.
“If [Neil] Gorsuch’s nomination is approved, will abortion be illegal the next day? No. One new judge won’t necessarily make much difference. But two or three might,” she said.
Just a little over four years after her prophetic statement, the fate of Roe v. Wade now hangs in the balance as the Supreme Court considers a law in Mississippi that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. At this point, the Supreme Court has not yet blocked the law out of Texas that effectively bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
In the same interview with the Guardian, Weddington revealed that she received an abortion in 1967 and encouraged women to share similar stories to eliminate the shame.
“Just before the anaesthesia hit,” she said, “I thought: ‘I hope no one ever knows about this.’ For a lot of years, that was exactly the way I felt. Now there’s a major push to encourage women to tell their stories so people will realize that it is not a shameful thing. One out of every five women will have an abortion.”
“Whatever else I do in my life, the headline on my obituary is always going to be ‘Roe v Wade attorney dies.'”
Sarah Weddington was a Texas giant. From litigating Roe v. Wade, to serving in the Texas House, to supporting countless women in politics, she has left a legacy of fighting for progress that is nearly unmatched. (1/2) #txlege pic.twitter.com/SVnOpU06af
— Rep. John Bucy III (@BucyForTexas) December 26, 2021
Norma McCorvey, who was 21 at the time and suffered years of abuse prior to getting pregnant and did not end up getting the abortion, would later regret her involvement in the case and joined the pro-life cause. As Jacqulyne Anton wrote in History in the Making, McCorvey was a scared 21-year-old girl and had no idea she was being used for a national movement.
“She was a reserved, unsure, and troubled woman seeking a way out of a pregnancy she wanted no part of,” noted Anton. “Nevertheless, Norma McCorvey undeniably became the protagonist in the fight against the antiabortion legislature. After the ruling in Roe, Jane Roe became an icon for pro-choice supporters to rally behind.”
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