Sarah Weddington, Iconic 'Roe v Wade' Abortion Rights Attorney, Passes Away At 76

Sarah Weddington fought a good fight, among the most important, for the right to abortion in the United States before she passed away on December 26. Reports suggest the Texas lawyer died at her home over the weekend following health issues.

Weddington was the attorney on the landmark Roe v Wade case in the 1970s when the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of a pregnant woman's right to choose and exercise liberty over her body without government interference. At the time, the US allowed for states to implement their own abortion laws that often stripped women of agency over pregnancy.

In Texas, where plaintiff Norma McCorvey sought an abortion after a third pregnancy at 21, abortion was illegal and only permissible under certain circumstances, such as when the mother's life was in danger. Under the pseudonym 'Jane Roe' for her, a lawsuit was filed by lawyers Weddington and Linda Coffee against her district attorney Henry Wade, arguing over the unconstitutionality of the abortion law.

While the case was mired in much controversy till years after the Supreme Court passed a judgment, owing in part to contradictory statements from McCorvey on whether or not the third pregnancy was a result of rape, Weddington emerged as a women's rights champion and the foremost advocate of abortion rights.

Suggested Reading: 2021 Roundup: Ten Landmark Judgements By Courts On Women’s Rights

"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 … the best writing instructor I ever had, and a great mentor," Susan Hays, a Democratic political candidate in Texas, wrote on Twitter, first announcing news of Weddington's death.

"Public schools don’t teach kids what they don’t have or didn’t have but for the work of people like Sarah. Her lessons opened my eye to just how tenuous my liberty and autonomy as a human being were and are."

A graduate of the University of Texas Law School, Weddington herself had an illegal abortion in 1967 while still a student. Soon after college, she involved herself with anti-abortion laws and 'Jane Roe' McCorvey was her first client. In 1973, after Weddington argued her case more than once before the Supreme Court, the Texas law on abortions was overturned by a majority vote and ultimately led to the legalisation of abortion in the US.